A New Life The Story of Tai Kamiya
by GoggleMaster01
Summary: Takes place at the end of S1. Instead of all the kids going home, Tai, persuaded by a mysterious visitor, stays behind and discovers he's a Halfborn. What's that? I'm not telling you, read the fic! The Dark Masters return, too. Finally complete!
1. My Name is Tai

GoggleMaster01- Yay! My first ficcy!!! Okay, I didn't like the ending of 01, so this starts as an alternate ending, then blossoms into the fic. This was a result of rewriting the story over and over again. (My first attempts at fanfiction were SOOOO weird.) I'm glad with what I've got here.

Ash Pikachu (dressed as a lawyer)- Aren't you forgetting something?

GoggleMaster01- Oh, yea, duh. Digimon does not belong to me, it belongs to Bandai and Toei Animation. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo. I do not own either concept and never will, but I DO own some individual characters. If you use them in your fic, please give me credit. I will tell you who these characters are at the start of each chapter.

Ash Pikachu- And?

GoggleMaster01- Man, you are so annoying! Later chapters of the fic will feature elements of the book series Warriors, which does not belong to me, but to the three Erin Hunters (Yes, there is three of them.) and HarperCollins Publishing. There, I did the copyrights, Ash. Happy now?

Ash Pikachu- DARN IT! I was almost sure you would forget!!!!

GoggleMaster01- But I didn't, did I, Ash. *smiles*

Ash Pikachu- Darn it. Ash Pikachu, Attorney of Law, away! *runs away*

GoggleMaster01- Okay, what else am I forget- oh! This story is told from Tai's POV. (For you newbees on fanfiction, that's short for Point of View) This means we will see the world from Tai's sugar-hyped, soccer-loving, adventurous brain. What fun. Okay, enough blah dee blah. On to the fic!

* * *

Chapter 1

My Name is Tai

**M**y name is Taichi Kamiya, but just call me Tai. I'm eleven years old. This is my story.

It all started one day in summer camp when it started to snow. Weird, huh? And a falling snowflake woke me up in the middle of my nap, too. Humph, can't the weather know when a guy is trying to get a little beauty sleep?! Then, as if that's not weird enough for you folks, this meteorite came spiraling out of the sky and these little machine thingies came out of it. And finally, this huge wave came spiraling along. The wave rolled merrily along as it engulfed me and six of my friends.

I didn't die, but I wound up in this weird place called the Digital World. There, I met Koromon, who turned into Agumon when me and my friends were attacked by a bug named Kuwagamon, who was apparently woken up from his beauty sleep too, and not too happy about it. Agumon kicked Kuwagamon's butt, with help from the other Digimon.

This old guy named Gennai told us we were the DigiDestined, who were said to save the DigiWorld in a time of crisis. My little sister Kari turned out to be a DigiDestined too. We defeated Apocalymon, the evil Digimon who was causing the destruction, and all was peaceful again in the DigiWorld. Happy, happy, happy, all the marshmallows we can eat.

We wanted to stay with the Digimon for the rest of our summer vacation, but then this stupid eclipse started to happen. Gennai ruined our fun and said that meant we only had two hours left before the portal between worlds closed forever, meaning we had to say goodbye to our Digimon and go back to the Human World.

So, I was sitting on a rock with Agumon, looking out at the sea. Sighing, I ran my hand through my thick brown hair and tried to hold back tears. I didn't want to go yet. There was so much left to explore, so much left to do.

"Stupid Matt and his harmonica," I sniffled. My friend Matt was off somewhere else with his Digimon Gabumon, playing the harmonica he loved more than life itself. I hated that stupid thing. It made such a squeaky, annoying noise whenever he played it. My advice- dump that harmonica and get a tuba or something.

"Hey! A little help over here!" I heard a voice that sounded a lot like my own. Blinking in confusion, I looked around. There, with his leg caught in a crag in the rock, was a guy who looked EXACTLY LIKE ME! There were a few differences though. This guy was see-through and had huge orange and white wings. Scars covered his body.

I didn't know what to do for a bit. Slowly, I walked up to the other me with Agumon following. I grabbed the ghost's arm. It was as solid as mine. "That's weird. It's solid. And it feels warm," I said, pulling on the ghost. I tugged and tugged mercilessly. Eventually, the other me was torn free. He flew through the air and landed on his butt.

"Ah, thanks," the other me said dreamily.

"Tai, what's going on?" Agumon asked.

"You don't see that ghost guy who looks like me?" I asked him. Was Agumon bananas?

"No," Agumon said, shaking his head. Was I bananas? Was this something only I could see?

"Okay, I know the past few days have been weird," the ghost said. "I present to you- More Weird!!! Let's see, where to begin? Hi, I'm you. From the future."

* * *

GoggleMaster01- So there it is. Kinda short, ain't it? Don't worry, Chapter 2 will be up soon! Review my ficcy please! Try to be gentle, 'kay. This is my first fic, and I don't want to be flamed right off the face of the earth before I even got a chance to start on the site. Bye, party peoples. Pika!!

O_o

- / -

: :

This is Wally Jr. Wally Jr. has nothing to do with my fic, I just thought he'd be fun to make. If you post Wally Jr. anywhere else, you will be attacked by rabid Pikachus!


	2. My Destiny

GoggleMaster01- I'm ba-ack! So, here's Chapter 2, as promised! So, in case you skipped over Chapter 1 for some reason, Tai is about to go back to the Human World (end of Season 1) when he sees a ghostly version of himself that winds up as Tai from the Future! What else happens? Keep reading!

Ash Pikachu- Ash Pikachu, Attorney of Law has returned!

GoggleMaster01- Aw, darn it! Let's just save some time, my stupid copyright thingy is on the first chapter. So, at the beginning of each chapter, I'll just say that, 'kay?

Ash Pikachu- Boo hoo! *runs away*

GoggleMaster01- That gets rid of him, eh? *shonen victory sign* (Okay, I think that's what it's called- it's when a character flashes a peace sign after a battle in an anime like Pokemon, Digimon etc. If anyone knows if it has a different name, please tell me.)

Okay, on to the fic!

* * *

Chapter 2

My Destiny

**"W**hat?" I was shocked. "I'm gonna be a ghost?!"

"Ha ha- no," future me said. "And do I have news for you! I know where you're going- back home to Odibia."

Odibia is a district in Tokyo. That was where I was born and raised. I didn't like it there. People made fun of me in school, and my teachers weren't exactly the nicest people either. I was brave, confident and adventurous to boot. I never felt like I belonged in the big city. The truth was, I felt more like I belonged in the Digital World. I never told anyone- they might have thought I was weird or something.

Besides, I had to go back. I had my family waiting for me- my mom and my dad and my ignorant cat. I had soccer, my favorite thing in the whole wide world. I had a life back there. I had no choice but to go.

"How do you know where I'm going?" I asked shakily.

"I'm you, remember?" future me said. "We both hate it there, don't we?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Well, you're gonna get a load of this," future me said. "Now, before I tell you this, you gotta promise me one thing. You have to promise not to go back to Odibia."

"Not go back?" I yelped. "I have to! My mom and dad and-"

"Then, I guess you don't want to go explore the rest of the Digital World," future Tai said. "Climb up mountains, swim through the rivers, save the world a few more times-"

"I do! I do want to explore the Digital World!" I cried out.

"Then, you know what you'll have to do," future me said.

I sighed. This would be one of the biggest things I ever had to do. I'd have to give up my life for one bit of information.

"Alright, I promise I won't go back," I said at last. I don't know what possessed me to say that- my curious, adventurous mind, future Tai, maybe escaping school. I will never know. But it's one of those things that I will never know, like how to spell glockenspiel.

"Okay, I'll tell you where to get all the answers," future me said. "Go into the woods and look for a tree stump that looks fake, like it's from Disney World or something. There is where all the answers lie."

"What about the others? Matt, Sora, Kari?"

"You'll have to tell them," future me said. "They must all go to that tree stump."

"Then why did Gennai say 'asta la vista' and arrange for us to go back if there's something else we gotta do?" I asked.

Future me looked sad, as if he was remembering something tragic. "I can't tell you," he said. "You'll have to find out for yourself."

"Boy, I did call Gennai a fountain of information when I first met him, but when it comes to information, you're Old Faithful," I said sarcastically.

Future me chuckled. Then, he walked up to me on all fours and touched his nose to mine. "Tai, you like leadership, adventure, the wind blowing through your hair," future me explained. "That's the life you want, not the one in Odibia."

I blinked a couple of times. "Yea," I said. "You're right! Oh, man, I've loved this adventure. It was so cool- y'know, making new friends, saving the world, seeing places I've never seen before. I thought it would never end."

"Do you want it to end?" future me asked, sounding nervous.

"No. Agumon and me, we had so much fun-" I took a deep breath. "I lived, I laughed, I grew up a little, made friends." I smiled. "Okay, dude, you win. I'm staying here."

"I'm glad," future me said. "Good luck out there, dude, and may the stars be with you!" With that, he vanished into smoke.

"May the stars be with you?" I asked myself. "What is this, Star Wars?"

"Hey! Whatchadoin', Tai?" Agumon asked.

"Agumon," I said. "I'm not sure if this was an illusion, but I saw this guy who was like a ghost, and he said that he was future me. He told me to stay here in the DigiWorld and find this tree stump that looks fake that's in the woods someplace."

"I've heard about that, Tai," Agumon said. "In the Digital World, sometimes people with a great destiny see themselves from the future. The tree stump is real. I've seen it. Do you know that place you landed when you first came to the Digital World?"

"Yea," I said. "In that clearing of the four oak trees."

"Well, if you go straight a mile or two into the forest, you'll find the tree stump," Agumon said.

"Then it's real!" I cried. I took a deep breath. The world seemed new. I was happy.

That's when I remembered the other DigiDestined! Duh duh dee!! Future me told me to go tell them about the tree stump. I looked at the eclipse up in the sky. The shadow of the eclipse nearly covered the sun.

"We don't have long, Agumon!" I cried. "We gotta go tell the other DigiDestined!"

* * *

GoggleMaster01- That's the end! Chapter 3 will come soon. Who will listen to Tai? What destiny is waiting for him in the Digital World? Who exactly IS Bozo the Clown?! All questions will be answered. Soon…

O_o

- / -

: :

This is Wally Jr. Wally Jr. has nothing to do with my fic, I just thought he'd be fun to make. If you post Wally Jr. anywhere else, you will be attacked by rabid Pikachus!


	3. The Others Don't Listen to Me

GoggleMaster01- Hey hey hey, it's me again! Okay, in case you skipped around (Which I love to do) Tai is choosing to stay in the Digital World. He receives some advice from his future self and is told he needs to find a special tree stump. All copyrights are on pg. 1. No OCs as of yet. (For you folks who don't get the lingo, that means original characters, characters invented by the author for the purpose of a fanfic) So, enjoy my Chapter 3.

* * *

Chapter 3

The Other DigiDestined Don't Listen to the Big-Haired Soccer Nut

**I** jumped off the rock and did a quick somersault. "10 points!" I cried. Agumon scuttled after me. I then began to search for the others.

After about twenty minutes, I found them at the edge of the water, boarding a cable car that was green and white. The other DigiDestined and the Digimon were there, Matt and Gabumon, Izzy and Tentomon, Sora and Biyomon, Joe and Gomamon, T.K. and Patamon, and my own sister Kari and her partner Gatomon. For some reason, I didn't see Mimi or her Digimon Palmon.

"Hey, Tai!" called Sora. "Ready to go?"

"Not exactly," I said.

"Not exactly?" Matt said, sounding really ticked off. "What do you MEAN 'not exactly'? We saved the world, we're done! We need to go home now!"

"This is gonna be really weird, but we've been through a lot of weird already," I said. I then proceeded to tell the other DigiDestined the wacky story of future me and the life I wanted to lead.

"So, you're gonna stay here?" Matt said. "Stupid Tai! All we wanted to do was to go back home. And here it is- our ticket home! So what changed your mind all of a sudden?"

"The truth is, guys-" I began. I paused. How do you put into words that you can't go back home because it never felt like home? I felt scared. Then, I remembered- I was the DigiDestined of Courage! Why should I be scared? I had to stand up and tell them.

"I feel like I belong here in the Digital World!" I blurted out. "And if anyone else wants to join me here, they're more than welcome!"

"Tai, the reason we did all this was so we could go home," Matt said. "And now, here's home! All we have to do is get on this cable car, and we will all be home!"

"I- I think I'm home right here," I said. "I want more adventures, Matt, and if you don't want to stay here, then that's your beeswax! I'm staying!"

"Fine!" Matt stomped onto the van. He turned to me and said, "Oh, and if you want to go blab to Mimi about the Digital World, she's in this van crying for some stupid reason. I wouldn't bug her if I were you." Matt then disappeared from view.

This left five other DigiDestined. "Join me, guys!" I said. "Please, I don't want to be alone!"

"Tai, we have our parents," Joe said. "And school. We can't just give all that up to-"

"GENNAI LIED!" I said really loudly so that Matt and Mimi could hear me too. "I don't know why, but he lied! We're supposed to go to this fake tree stump in the woods! Future me said so! Agumon says that people see their future selves in the Digital World and the tree stump exists, so it's not like I've gone cuckoo for Coco Puffs or anything. This stuff is real."

"We have to go, Tai," Sora said. "Goodbye." She then got on the cable car. One by one, the others followed her.

"If Matt's goin', I'm goin' too," T.K. said. "Take care of Patamon, 'kay Tai?"

"Okay," I said.

Kari jumped off the cable car. "Tai, the truth is I want to stay too, but I don't want Mom and Dad to worry about us," she said. "Besides, something tells me we'll get to see each other again someday. I can't wait!" She smiled.

I sighed. My sister had some kind of mysterious power. Maybe she was right. Maybe this wasn't the end. Maybe I'd see her again someday.

"Tell Mom and Dad the truth," I said. "That I'm staying here and I'm okay."

"I will." Kari got back on the cable car. "I'll miss you, Tai!" she cried out- just as the door to the cable car began to close.

"Kari!" I yelled. But it was too late. The cable car roared to life and lifted away, and I heard the metallic click of the door closing. I could do nothing but watch as the cable car hummed merrily as it took my friends away. I stared until it was nothing more than a spot, a dot, a speck, gone.

"Bye," I said. And with that, I was alone in the Digital World.

My legacy was about to begin.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- That's it. Don't worry. The other DigiDestined WILL appear again, though I don't count on them appearing in person for a while. Until Chapter 4, farewell!

O_o

- / -

: :

This is Wally Jr. Wally Jr. has nothing to do with my fic, I just thought he'd be fun to make. If you post Wally Jr. anywhere else, you will be attacked by rabid Pikachus!


	4. I Find the Stump!

GoggleMaster01- Hi, everyone! Okay, first of all, all my copyrights are on Chapter 1. Second, in the previous chapter, Tai tried to talk to the other DigiDestined to make them stay, but they all wanted to go home to their families. Third, this chapter contains my first OC (or original character)- Redtail the Torkoal!!! If you are going to use him, please give all credit to me. Also, so that you don't get Redtail OOC, (or out of character) he is usually calm and serious, but if order is broken, he goes insane and all hell breaks loose. He he.

And now, without further blah blah blah by me, let's start the fic!

* * *

Chapter 4

I Find the Stump!

**I** was somewhere between lonely and pissed off when the others left. Then, I turned to Agumon, and realized I wouldn't be alone in my new world. "Well Agumon," I said. "It's just you, me and the Digital World!"

We rushed into the forest, back to the place where I first landed in the DigiWorld. "This way, Tai!" Agumon said. He then ran off to the left, deeper into the forest.

I ran to catch up, passing in front of Agumon. We started to run a silly little race. I was enjoying myself. As I ran, I began to holler "WHOO-HOO!!!"

This was where I really belonged.

At last, we reached the fake looking tree stump. I was tired and out of breath. It had a little dark brown door on the top of it. "Whoa, cool!" I said. "Hey, Agumon, is this it?"

"That's it, Tai," Agumon said.

I stared excitedly. Soon, something awesome would happen, and my adventures would begin.

Well, about three hours slowly ticked by, and the stump remained motionless. I expected it to sprout a face and say "Na na na na na!" I tried everything humanly possible to make something happen. I kicked the stump, then I bit it, tried to pry the door open, made Agumon use Pepper Breath on it. Still nothing.

"Aw man!" I cried. "Are you telling me I got stuck here for nothing?!"

There was no reply except the wind, which ruffled my hair a little bit. I had gotten used to that happening on my adventures. It tickled a little bit, but I liked it. Maybe I didn't even need the stupid tree stump! Yeah! Maybe I could just go off and do what I please in the Digital World! It was now my oyster! I didn't need whatever mysteries that were in the stupid stump to be happy.

I began to walk away, then, suddenly, I heard a squeaky noise, like a door opening. I turned around to investigate. This orange turtle thing with a gray shell with red stones on it pulled himself out of the tree stump.

"YAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I was ready for this creature- obviously another Digimon- to attack.

But he didn't. He just stared at me like I'd just fallen from the sky. Then, he said, "Team StarClan above, are my eyes betraying me?"

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Oh, sorry," the turtle said. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Redtail. I am a Torkoal and the leader of Pokemon Base."

"Pokemon-Who-Ha?" I asked.

"Pokemon are other creatures who live here with the Digimon," Agumon explained to me. "This must be Pokemon Base. I've heard about it. A bunch of Pokemon and Digimon live there in peace, hidden from dangerous forces like Apocalymon."

"Okay, so they must be sort of like Digimon," I said to myself. "Now, on to my next question. What the heck is Team StarClan?"

"What kind of question is that?!" Redtail yelled. "They are our ancestors. If you look up into the night sky, you will see many silver stars. Each star is a Team StarClan warrior. They watch over us and give us guidance."

"Somebody told me the stars were big balls of gas in the sky," I said. "Kinda like farts."

"THEN THEY WERE WRONG!!!" Redtail yelled. Then, he calmed down and said, "Just come with me, Tai."

"Wait, how do you know my name?" I asked in alarm.

"You're a DigiDestined," Redtail replied. "And we know more than just your names, we know everything there is to know about each of you." He climbed back into the tree stump.

At first, I was unsure of whether or not to follow this Redtail dude, but in the end, I jumped in after him. Then, Agumon jumped after me and closed the door.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- Chapter 4 is over. What mysteries lie in the mysterious tree stump? I'll tell you all- in the next chapter. *GoggleMaster01 gets rotten food thrown at her* Oh come on, if I were to try to cram this story into one chapter, it would look sorta like "Tai wants to stay in the Digital World, so he does. The other DigiDestined don't come with him. He goes to a tree stump and meets Redtail and then he-" sorry, I can't say anything else without giving spoilers.

O_o

- / -

: :

This is Wally Jr., as always. Wally Jr. has nothing to do with my fic, I just thought he'd be fun to make. If you post Wally Jr. anywhere else, you will be attacked by rabid Pikachus!


	5. I Get Food and a Bath

GoggleMaster01- Still don't own the concepts of Pokemon, Digimon or Warriors and never will. In the last chapter, Tai found the tree stump and met Redtail the Torkoal. He is now about to discover the secrets of the Digital World…

Another OC will be introduced- Psystar the Alakazam. Don't use him without permission. Psystar's personality is like Gennai's personality. (from S1) This is because he- oh, why am I telling you?! Red the damn fic, people!

* * *

Chapter 5

I Get Food and a Bath

**R**edtail told me more about Pokemon Base. They were a group of warriors who made their own technology, yet still hunted for food to survive. The baby Pokemon and Digimon, who were called Hatchkits, became apprentices at the age of seven moons, or months in Digimon time. An experienced warrior serves as their mentor, and trains them so they are ready for the life of a full-grown warrior.

At the end of the tunnel, I was shocked. This was the main hub. Redtail called it Pokemon Square. More Pokemon and Digimon than I had ever seen crowded the Square. There were a few shops, and a clock made of brass and iron sat at the very center. To the right of the clock tower was a huge pile of leaves and dead animals.

"Are you hungry, Tai?" Redtail asked.

"I'm always hungry, dude!" I yelled. "Bring on the munchies!"

Redtail walked over to the pile of dead animals. He returned with a dead mouse and a leaf.

"Straight from the fresh-kill pile to you," Redtail said. "One mouse and one Silcon Leaf."

"Was that thing the fresh-kill pile?" I asked.

Redtail nodded. "That's where all the warriors bring the food they caught during the day," he said.

"So that's not a huge pile of Whamon barf?" I asked.

"No," Redtail said. "Here, try the mouse first." Without warning, he shot fire out of his mouth and cooked the mouse into a tater tot. It actually smelled yummy. He gave the mouse to me.

"Yuck!" I said, crinkling my nose. "You actually want me to eat that?"

"Tai, I thought you were the brave and adventurous one," Redtail said in a mocking tone. "Don't act like Mimi or we'll just have to get you a dress and a pink bow to put in that hair of yours."

I was insulted. "Bring it on, Redtail!" I cried. "I'm gonna show you how tough I am!!!" And, just like they do on Fear Factor, I grabbed the mouse in my mouth and chomped it down in one bite.

My eyes widened. The meat tasted so good! It was like chicken, but more tender, and the flavors of the forest burst in my mouth.

"Mmmmmmmmmm!" I said. "This is the best thing I've ever tasted!"

I then scooped up the leaf and chomped on it. It was not as good as the mouse, but I still loved it. It was crisp and cool, and it was perfect to wrap a mouse in and eat as a sandwich wrap.

"Oh man, so goood…." I drooled. Then, like a rocket, I rushed to the fresh-kill pile and began to gobble up any mouse or Silcon Leaf I could get, even though the mouse was raw. Agumon went over and began to eat too, and before long, we were stuffed like Thanksgiving turkeys.

After our meal, Redtail led us away from the fresh-kill pile to a hallway right behind the clock tower that led out of the square. We went down the hallway. In the first door to the right, there was a small pond, along with some soap, shampoo and other grooming supplies. There was even a mirror on the back of the door.

"Your bathtub," Redtail said.

"So, I can take a bath in here?" I asked.

"Yes," Redtail replied.

I was a bit nervous. See, whenever I tried to take a bath in the Digital World, I was attacked by a bunch of Digimon who believed this old wife's tale that if a person took a bath on their first adventure, the water would turn black and become a thick, goopy poison. I'd seen it happen once, but that was in some hotel that Devimon conjured up to trick us. Maybe my "first adventure" had ended when I beat Apocalymon, so it was okay now.

"When you are done cleaning up in here, go back to the clock tower where the fresh-kill pile was," Redtail said. "I know you want your privacy in here, so me and Agumon will leave."

"See you later, Tai," Agumon said. Then, he and Redtail left.

I wasn't in the mood to be pelted by superstitious Digimon like in Devimon's hotel. But, at the same time, I really, really, REALLY wanted a bath. So, I decided to clean up a bit. It wouldn't hurt anyone, right? I flung my clothes off and jumped into the water. "Cannonball!!!" I screamed as I hit the water. The water was warm and felt good on my skin. When I resurfaced, I let out a deep sigh and then went to get some soap.

It felt great to be clean again! I washed myself in places I normally never did, like behind my ears, and shampooed my hair twice. The best part- not a single invading Digimon! I could take my bath in peace.

After my bath, which lasted about twenty minutes, I found a towel near the door waiting for me, plus a hairbrush and a blow dryer. I took the towel and began to dry myself up. Then, I got redressed and turned the blow dryer on, blasting myself with hot air. For some unknown reason, I liked how this felt and ran the hair dryer over my body. Then I blow dried my hair and brushed it.

I looked at the end result in the mirror. There I was, same moppy hair, same brown eyes, same goggles. But now, I was clean and I smelled good. And for a second, I seemed a bit more mature.

I flashed a peace sign at my reflection, and it flashed one back. Then, I ran out of the room.

I had no idea of the wacky things that were about to happen.

I ran up to the clock tower humming some song from a cereal commercial to myself. There, right next to the fresh-kill pile, was Agumon and Redtail. There was also a third, humanoid looking figure with two spoons in each hand. He wore a Yin/Yang pendant around his neck.

"Hi, party peoples!" I said as I ran up to them. The third figure walked up to me. "Greetings, Taichi," he said. "I am Psystar. I am and Alakazam and leader of Pokemon Base. Redtail is my deputy."

Something about this Whatsitstar seemed familiar. Then, it hit me- he sounded exactly like Gennai!

"Are you related to Gennai or something?" I asked.

"I AM Gennai," Psystar replied. "I controlled him and guided you on your journey as DigiDestined."

"Wait, then. Why did you lie to us?!" I yelled. "Why did you tell us to leave and then lug that cable car back to San Francisco?!"

"I didn't," Psystar said. "I was going to tell you to come here. Somebody else took over Gennai and sent you away. He also killed Seapelt, the Wingull who was my previous deputy."

"So, Gennai was an illusion? Then, what about his house and-" I began to say.

"That was all an illusion as well," Psystar replied. "It wasn't time to show myself yet, because that would mean showing Pokemon Base and thus revealing the secret that we have kept from you all your life."

"What secret?" I asked. "Now, I really wanna know the secret!!! What's the deal with trying to hide this 'big secret'?!"

"If we told you the secret before you fought Apocalymon, you might have done something reckless and gotten yourself killed," Psystar said.

"Yep, that's me in a nutshell!" I said. "But seriously, what's the secret?"

"Well, now that the Digital World is in peace, I can tell you." Psystar took a deep breath. "Taichi Kamiya, DigiDestined of Courage, you are not a human being."

* * *

GoggleMaster01- That's all for now. Before you ask, no Tai is NOT a Dragonball alien. (I actually don't know how to spell it- saian, sayan or saiyan?) What is he? Stay tuned.

O_o

- / -

: :

This is Wally Jr., as always. Wally Jr. has nothing to do with my fic, I just thought he'd be fun to make. If you post Wally Jr. anywhere else, you will be attacked by rabid Pikachus!


	6. The Truth is Painful

Tai- Okay, GoggleMaster01's in the bathroom, so I'll tell you what happened. Last time on Digimon- Digital Monsters- no, wait, what?

GoggleMaster01- Time to post the next chapter of my fi- Tai?

Tai- Um, hi?

GoggleMaster01- Tai, go back into the fic or I'll glomp you.

Tai- *sighs then goes back in the magical portal to my fic*

GoggleMaster01- Whew. That was close. But I still wanted to glomp him. *hugs Tai plushie* Okay, last chapter, Tai got a meal and a bath, and he meets Psystar, the brains behind Gennai. And Tai gets the painful news that he's not human!!! What happens? Read on to discover what happens next.

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Chapter 6

The Truth is Painful

"**W**hat?!" I yelled. "Not a human being?! Listen, Spoonmon, I KNOW I'm a human being. I've been one since I was born!"

"So naïve and yet so sure," Psystar mumbled. Then he told me, "A human being is born to two human parents."

"Like me!" I said. "I was born to two human parents!"

"But you, Taichi," Psystar went on "was born to one human parent and one parent who was a Pokemon. It could have been a Digimon, I'm not really sure."

"So, I'm half Pokemon?" I asked. "I don't believe this bunch of baloney! I've seen both my parents! They're human!"

"One parent was only pretending to be a human," Psystar said. "There are many Pokemon and Digimon who can shape-shift into humans."

"I'm human! I'm human!" I yelled, tears starting to form. "I don't believe you!"

"There is a name for your kind, Taichi," Psystar told me. "You are a Halfborn. So are all the other DigiDestined. If everything went according to plan, you would have come here after defeating Apocalymon. You would have all come here to unseal the powers within you and train to become warriors."

"It's not true!" I said. I felt tears starting to form, like this story was actually real. "It's- it's not true!"

"It is true," Psystar told me. "You are the DigiDestined of Courage and wield the powers of fire. You like being in warm places, don't you?"

I nodded. "Yea."

"And form birth, you've had excellent hearing, really good eyesight, and a powerful sense of smell. You can tell who a person is just by smell."

I sniffed. My eyes widened. There were so many different smells in the air- fresh kill and leaves, but things and people too. The clock tower, Psystar, Agumon, a shop, Redtail. And the weird part was I could tell where most of the smells came from.

"Yea, I can smell things," I said. A tear started to trickle down my face, and I wiped it away. "That doesn't mean I'm not human."

"And, Taichi, didn't you feel more at home here than in the Human World?" Psystar asked.

The truth was slowly dawning on me. For some reason, I started crying uncontrollably. "How- how did you know that?" I sobbed. I then stopped to wipe away my tears. I was the leader of the DigiDestined! Why was I crying? "I-I can't st-st-stop crying!"

Psystar walked up to me. "Does the truth hurt you?" he asked.

"Yea," I sniffled.

"See, if I told you before, you might have done something careless when you were fighting Apocalymon, thinking you had the power to stop him. I need to unlock your powers in a special ceremony."

The truth about myself hit me like a seven-ton truck. I felt like I was all alone. I didn't know who I was anymore and I was confused. Maybe that's why I was crying. But, after a while, the initial shock calmed down, and I stopped crying.

"Are you ready, Taichi?" Psystar asked. "We have to go unlock your powers."

I wiped up my tears. "Yeah."

"Very well then," Psystar said. "Redtail, come with us."

"Wait!" I said. "You mean I can't bring Agumon?"

"No," Redtail said. "This is a sacred ritual between leader, Halfborn and deputy. Agumon will be waiting for you here."

"'Kay," I said. I silently followed Psystar and Redtail, my mind buzzing with questions.

Why me? Why am I a Halfborn? What do I have to do? Did me and the other DigiDestined have some other thing left to do in the Digital World? Who exactly IS Bozo the Clown?!

I was about to find out the answer to all of those questions. Well, except that last one. I guess I'll never know the answer to that.

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GoggleMaster01- So, the mystery of Bozo the Clown will remain hidden forever. So sad? What will happen next? Read the next chapter, when it's up, to find out. *suspenseful music*

O_o

- / -

: :

This is Wally Jr., as always. Wally Jr. has nothing to do with my fic, I just thought he'd be fun to make. If you post Wally Jr. anywhere else, you will be attacked by rabid Pikachus!


	7. I Spread My Wings

GoggleMaster01- Hi, I'm ba-ack! Okay, this is one of the longer chapters of my fic. It has two OCs- Starstar and Longstar, both of whom serve as Tai's guides. Don't use 'em anyplace else without giving me credit!!! Also in this chapter, I used the suffix –dono, which is supposed to imply stronger respect than –sama. (I'm not sure if it really does, I read about it out of a manga series I don't even like- is it a real suffix? If it's not, tell me, and I'll fix it.) And, as always, all copyrighting crap is in Chapter One of the fic, where Tai is still where Agumon used Pepper Breath for the first time, spending his last few hours in DigiWorld. So, in the last chapter of my ficcy, Tai finds out he's a Halfborn (that's what I meant when I kept saying he wasn't human, I told you people a million times he wasn't a Dragonball alien) and we get to see Tai do something he usually doesn't- cry.

Matt- Hey, I usually don't cry either! And I cried in that episode _The Crest of Friendship_! It was a touching episode, and the best one! Why aren't you talking about that? No, you gotta talk about Tai crying in some stupid fic.

GoggleMaster01- Hey, Matt, it's not stupid! Now get back in the fic!

Matt- Not so fast, Missy. You booted me out of the fic in Chapter 3. So you can't just magically put me back in.

GoggleMaster01- No, but I am the author. I can do whatever I want!

Matt- Not to the most loveable character, you can't! (Matt's not the most loveable character, but he sure thinks he is, huh?)

GoggleMaster01- I AM THE AUTHOR AND YOU SHALL LISTEN TO ME! And I was gonna give you a part in a flashback in this chapter too! *jumps on Matt and begins to fight him* While I'm putting Harmonica Boy in his place, enjoy Chapter 7 and some elevator music. *Digimon theme song plays merrily*

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Chapter 7

I Spread my Wings

**W**e went all the way down the hallway behind the clock tower. At the end, there was a door. "This is my den," Psystar said. He led me in. I was a simple looking room with a moss bed and a bookshelf filled with big heavy books that I would never even touch, let alone read.

Psystar pushed the bookshelf out of the way to reveal a secret tunnel. We went down the tunnel into a small room. In the room, there was a round stone table and eight clear glass tubes behind it. On the center of the table, arranged in a neat little circle were the eight Crests.

Including my own Crest of Courage!!!

See Apocalymon destroyed our Crests when we fought him. The Crests allowed our Digimon to digivolve and become stronger. We used the energy from our hearts to digivolve our Digimon.

"This is impossible!" I said. Quickly, I made a grab for my Crest. "Is this real?"

"Yes," Psystar said. "We've always had duplicate Crests here, just in case something happened to the original Crests."

"Cool!" I said. I began to put the Crest around my neck.

"Tai, before you put that on, you have the option to take that Crest, and your Digivice, and go back to the Human World."

I was confused. "Isn't it closed for good?" I asked.

"We have ways to reopen the portal for a short period of time," Psystar explained. "If you wish to go back, you may. Everything that happened- your adventure, the Pokemon you met- all of it will seem like a dream to you, and none of this will have ever happened. You may live a normal life and never know that you are a Halfborn. This is your last chance. Do you take this out?"

I was confused. Should I go home? Back to Odibia and Sora and Kari and my friends? Or should I stay here and feel the wind in my hair? I might never see the others ever again. But I remembered them well- Sora's eyes, Matt's annoying harmonica, Kari's smile. I still had them with me as long I as I remembered them. Besides, I didn't know which would be worse, and at least if I was here, I'd feel at home in the Digital World. Mom and Dad knew I was okay.

"Me? Go back?" I said, looking at my shoes. Then, I faced Psystar and said "Hell no! I'm gonna do this!" And then I put the Crest around my neck and flashed a peace sign.

"That's just the answer I'd expect from you, Taichi," Psystar said. "We're ready to begin. Now is the time to ask any questions you may have."

Man, where to begin? I had so many questions, and many were stupid. I only had two that seemed important at the time.

"Am I still gonna be me?" I asked. "I mean, I'm not gonna turn into some fire breathing dragon with seventy heads or a werewolf or something am I?"

"You've been watching too many horror movies, Taichi," Psystar said. "No. You won't undergo a complete transformation. You will, however, feel some pain in your backbone. It's normal, however. If you don't feel it, that means you won't get your wings."

"Wings?" This was the first I was hearing of this. "As in flying wings?"

"Yes, but other than that, nothing else will change about your appearance," Psystar reassured me.

I was going to get wings. Wings might be fun, actually. I'd always wanted to fly. Hey, who hasn't? Well, probably Joe wouldn't want to. If he went so much as ten feet of the ground, he'd wet his pants or something. If growing wings was all that was gonna happen, then I'd be okay. I mean come on, how much could it hurt?

"Psystar, what about Matt, Sora, Kari, everyone. Will I ever see them again?" I asked. I didn't want to be throwing my past life down the toilet if I knew doing that meant I'd never see my friends again.

"We will make sure you see the others again," Redtail answered. "But don't expect it to happen anytime soon. It may take years."

I stood still for a long time. My world, my species, my life. Everything was about to change. Everything. But I knew it wasn't over for the DigiDestined. We'd get to see each other again. Sure, okay, maybe I'd be a seventy-five year old Halfborn and my hair and wing feathers would be as gray as a Gazimon's behind, but I'd get to see them again. I was sure that the DigiDestined were invincible. No matter what happened to us, we'd always spring back.

"Do you have any more questions?" Psystar asked.

I had so many mixed up things buzzing in my head, but I shook my head no.

"Empty your mind of all thought, and we'll begin," Psystar said.

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled. I tried to push away all the questions that churned in my noggin like bananas in a blender, but it was so hard. They paraded across my brain, whispering "Ask me, ask me…"

Psystar began to chant and begin the ritual. "Team StarClan, I have brought this child before you! Open the gate to his powers and the Pokemon and Digimon heritage he has inherited."

I blinked as a small, puffy white thing began to fall down. It fell on my nose and I blinked again. I thought of when it snowed at the summer camp, when all of this began. My mind traveled back in time to before I met Agumon, before I went to the Digital World, where my biggest problem was getting an A in all my school subjects, a feat I never accomplished. (My highest grade I think was a C+ or something like that.)

Another puffy white thing came down. Then another. They began to rain down upon us. Was it snowing? The cave faded and slowly turned into a velvet night sky. There was no moon and it was as clear as clear could be. Only then did I realize the puffy things weren't snowflakes.

They were stars!

Two stars, one of them the brightest of them all, began to grow, biggerer and biggerer. They began to take shape. One became a four-legged thing with a scythe on his head, and the really bright star became a small, pixie-like thingy with big blue eyes that shone as bright as the stars. When the two of them had taken shape, they advanced towards me.

"Welcome, brave Taichi," the pixie creature said. "I am Starstar, a Celebi, and this is Longstar, an Absol."

Psystar was whispering something to himself. I heard something about the "leader of Team StarClan." I myself was trying not to break into hysterical laughter at Starstar's name.

Longstar walked up to me and gently held my right hand in his mouth. "Taichi, it is us who sent you your future self," Longstar said in a deep voice. "You have received our message. We couldn't let you leave. There are many prophecies that tell of a great Hero. You are that Hero, Taichi. You must fulfill your destiny here. But to do that, the gate to your true self must be open. You must be a Halfborn."

Starstar then proceeded to grab my right hand. "Is this gonna hurt?" I asked.

"A little, but it won't last, and you will feel much better afterwards, like you've never felt pain before. This is your last moment as a human, Taichi. In a minute or two, you will be a full Halfborn at last."

I was getting annoyed that everyone was calling me by my full name. Taichi. I hated that name. "Um, Starstar-dono, if it's not too much trouble, can you please call me Tai?" I asked.

See? I can be polite. When I feel like it.

Starstar nodded at me, then turned to Longstar, who looked back. It was Redtail's turn to speak. "Team StarClan, release the veil of deception from Taichi! Open his eyes to his true self!" he cried.

That was the only warning I got. Then, there came the hellish pain. Pain started to tingle in my hands, then shot up my arms and spread throughout my body. My backbone felt like it was being ripped apart, spilt in two, and pulled out of my back. I had to use all my willpower to keep from yelling. I saw the starry sky vanish into thin air. In its place was a huge fire. The flames lept in front of my eyes. Was this a trap? Was I going to hell?

My organs were shifting, rearranging themselves to fit the new body. I felt my stomach slide over a bit and begin to grow. And I swear, I felt an organ begin to grow under my ribs. Was I turning into a seventy headed dragon after all?

Sparks began to crackle at my fingertips. The fire got bigger and brighter. Suddenly, I was in a strange place where vortexes of red, orange and yellow swirled like molten lava all around me. And the fire, still there, got bigger and brighter.

Never before in my life had I felt such pain, and never again afterwards. My eyes were burning. I had gone far away, yet I hadn't left the spot where I stood when the ritual began. My insides felt like they were on fire. You know the feeling you get in your gullet when you eat a lot of spicy food? Well, picture that, only ten times worse! And guess what? I had no glasses of water to cool off with!

I was dying, I was being born, I was both at once. Tears of pain streamed down my face and I began to scream. But the cry sounded like it wasn't mine, like it was far away from this awful place. It felt like someone was molding my body like a piece of clay- stretching me, squishing me into a hockey puck, pricking me with needles, squeezing me tight, rolling me into a ball. Now I knew how Silly Putty felt.

Then, I saw a hill of bones in front of me, and a red stream leak from under it. I sniffed, and realized it was blood. I gasped. My nose had been supercharged. I could smell the blood almost like it was being held under my nose.

Then, I heard Starstar's voice. "There is something you must know," she said. "Lion spilled blood and forced Halfborns to fly away. Lion and Angel will meet in battle, and the light will return to her brother."

"What the hell does that mean?!" I screamed. The blood turned into a river, wrapping me in a sticky crimson tide. The current pulled me under, and I struggled to reach the surface. Dammit, why didn't I take those swimming lessons when my mom asked me to? I couldn't breathe, and could smell nothing but blood. I fell, down, down, down, into a strange place made of a weird, slimy green jelly. Computer code flew by in front of me.

Suddenly, my body felt warm and sticky, like a cinnamon bun with glaze. I began to drool at the thought of a cinnamon bun. I felt like I was melting, slowly melting, back into reality. The pain slowly melted too. It felt good. I closed my eyes and sighed. It felt like my feet went through the floor first, then my torso, my arms, my new wings, my head. I sighed happily. And I heard Starstar's voice.

"It's over now," she said. "You are now a full Halfborn. Good luck, Tai."

I smiled. Then, I began to fall asleep. Suddenly, I was back in summer camp, lying on a tree branch, napping in the sunlight. A snowflake began to fall, going right for my nose, just like last time. It landed right on my nose, same as before. Then, I opened my eyes.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- Cool ficcy so far, huh, Yamato-san?

Matt- MRRRPNH! *Matt's mouth is covered with tape and he is tied up*

GoggleMaster01- So, what will happen to Tai now? Find out in the next cha-

*rabid Matt fangirls approach GoggleMaster01*

Fangirls- You tied up Yamato-sama!!! Can we touch him?!

GoggleMaster01- No, I just tied him up until he says he likes my fic.

Fangirls- *get angry, begin to attack Matt and GoggleMaster01*

GoggleMaster01- Um, due to technical difficulties, I must go! Chapter 8 will be up soon. Bye!

Wally Jr. is being chased by rabid fangirls. So, enjoy Buddy the Symbol Man who disobeys all the rules of grammar and loves tacos!

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l l


	8. Ladies and Gentlemen The New Tai!

GoggleMaster01- Well, here we are, Chapter 8. Sorry I haven't updated in so long- I'm currently writing a Pokemon fanfic along with this one, and it will be up soon. Anyway, in the last chapter, Tai found his Halfborn powers-

Tai- The last chapter hurt. (rubs head)

GoggleMaster01- Aww, poor Tai-Tai. Do you want me to glomp- I MEAN, hug you and make it all better?

Tai- *envisions a glomping* That's okay. I'm ready for Chapter 8.

GoogleMaster01- Okey-dokey, let's get started. YES, ALL MY COPYRIGHTS ARE IN CHAPTER ONE!

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Chapter 8

Ladies and Gentlemen, the New Tai!

**I**t was over. The worst two minutes of my life were over. I didn't feel any different, though. Where were my new wings? What a rip off!

I stumbled along in this weird four-legged crawl. I didn't know why. Something was just telling me to do that. I sighed. Maybe I WAS a seventy headed dragon. I wobbled up to Psystar and collapsed.

Psystar began to scratch me on my back. I smiled. It felt really good, better than that feeling I get after a good meal. It was sort of like finally scratching that itch on your back that you can't reach no matter what you do, only it was ten times better. I was being petted-yea, petted- for the first time. "Oh, man, what is that?" I mumbled. "Oh, man, that feels good. A little to the left- yea, that's the spot. Ahh…"

"Welcome, Taichi, DigiDestined of Courage," Redtail said. "You are a Halfborn now. You are now an apprentice. You're one of us."

"You-could-have-given-me-more-of-a-warning-about-pain," I said, happy I was being petted and angry nobody had given me a heads up about total, backbreaking pain.

Psystar stopped petting me, and I grumbled to myself, "Why did ya stop, that felt good…"

"Turning into a fire-breathing creature with wings is painful," Psystar said matter-of-factly, like I should have known about the pain.

"You mean a dragon?!" I asked in horror. I began to look for my other sixty-nine heads.

"You're not a dragon," Redtail said.

"Phew," I said. "Man, that was so weird. And that hill of bones and the blood- that was freaky. And Starstar told me some thing about a lion and an angel and light will return to her brother. Just some cryptic fortune cookie thing."

"That was a prophecy you received," Psystar said. "Team StarClan gives them to people all the time. Only time will tell what it is. Now, go back to that room where you took your bath and take a look at yourself."

"Um, okay, thanks," I said. I ran on all fours back to the clock tower, tripping on myself about thirty times. Agumon was still waiting for me.

"Tai!" Agumon said.

"Um, Redtail said I wasn't a seventy-headed dragon, but I just want to be sure. Am I?" I asked.

"No…" Agumon said. He stared at me, and I stared at him. We just kept staring for the longest time.

After about thirty minutes of this, I learned that pointless staring at a Digimon was not only a useless waste of time but really, really boring, I said, "Agumon, Psystar said I had to go check and see my new wings, but- but I don't really feel any different."

"Tai, you got them," Agumon said.

"Huh?" I ran like a maniac back down the hallway I just came down, grumbling to myself about how stupid I was for not stopping to check BEFORE getting Agumon. I found the bathroom and slammed the door shut with so much force that I must have caused an earthquake someplace on Server.

I nearly passed out. Sprouting from my back were two big white wings with a few orange feathers here and there. They were like angel wings. I moved them for the first time. Weird, huh? I flapped my wings a couple of times. Could I really fly with these?

If only the other DigiDestined knew what just happened. I winked at my reflection.

It winked back.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- Now, in his new form, what dangers will Tai face in the Digital World? Stay tuned…

O_o

- / -

: :

This is Wally Jr, as always. Wally Jr. has nothing to do with my fic, I just thought he'd be fun to make. If you post Wally Jr. anywhere else, you will be attacked by rabid Pikachus!


	9. Welcome to Base

GoggleMaster01- Hi, me again! In the last chapter, Tai sees his wings for the first time and is officially a Halfborn. This next chapter is pretty long, but there is a lot explained in it, such as "If Psystar was Gennai, then why didn't he just stop the cable car?".

Ash Pikachu- Ash Pikachu, Attorney of-

GoogleMaster01- And my copyrights are in Chapter 1. Man, putting that on every page is so annoying. We all KNOW Digimon and Pokemon don't belong to me!

Ash Pikachu- No, actually, I'm Matt's lawyer.

Matt- (wrapped in bandages) Yea. You left me behind in Chapter 7 and I got mobbed by fangirls! So, I'm suing you for all the injuries and the pain they caused with their terrible glomping!

GoggleMaster01- Okay… While I deal with Pretty Boy, enjoy Chapter 9.

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Chapter 9

Welcome to Base, Tai

**I** sat there and stared in awe and fear. What the hell happened to me in that crazy place?! "I'm a freak, Agumon," I said, sadly staring at my reflection. (Which, by the way, is about as useless and boring as staring at a Digimon.) "I look like I just ran away from a circus sideshow."

"You're not a freak, Tai," Agumon said. "You're the most magnificent Halfborn I've ever seen!"

"And how many Halfborns HAVE you seen?" I asked dryly.

"Um, let's see, there was that one guy at Frigimon's birthday party, um, none," Taibite said.

"I knew it," I said. "You have nothing to compare to, Agumon, so how in the DigiWorld do you think I'm the most magnificent Halfborn you've ever seen, huh?"

I began to chase Agumon around the room, kind of like racing Dad for that last slice of bacon in the morning- Dad always waddling like some kind of mutant penguin and me zooming up to him and going past him and nabbing my bacon. When I caught up to Agumon, I grabbed him and gave him a noogie. We both laughed like little schoolgirls. Then, I sighed.

Suddenly, I heard a loud voice. "ATTENTION! ATTENTION!" it yelled. It was Psystar's voice! And it was loud. Now, I'm not talking yelling-into-a-microphone loud. I'm talking rock-concert loud.

"What the-" I said. I was sure me and Agumon were alone.

"All warriors old enough to catch their own prey, please gather beneath the clock tower!" Psystar's voice boomed.

I looked up- and saw where the voice was coming from. There, on the ceiling, was a tiny speaker that Psystar apparently liked to set on "Louder than a Shogunmon". My ears were booming. Were they amped up like my nose?

"I think we have to go to the clock tower, Tai," Agumon said.

"Um, did you hear Psystar?" I said. "I can't catch 'prey', 'kay Agumon? I've lived a human life and eaten human food. The farthest from my fridge that I ever went for food was to Uncle Happy's Pizza Parlor."

"Tai, a Digimon is ready to catch their own food at the age of seven moons," Agumon said. "And you are WAY over seven moons."

I though about that for a bit. After a while, I found out that he was right- I was way over that age, and therefore old enough to 'catch my own prey', even though I didn't know how the hell to do that.

"Okay, Agumon, you win," I said. We left the room and rushed into Pokemon Square. I still felt uncomfortable walking on all fours, so I flung myself upright.

Running around Pokemon Square in the direction of the clock tower were thousands of Pokemon and Digimon. Just then, I saw a Kuwagamon hurtle right by me. I screamed, "Agumon, he's back!"

"Who's back?" Agumon asked.

"Kuwagamon!" I yelled in reply. I told you about Kuwagamon- the big bug with the bad attitude. Well, did I tell you I saw him again? That's right, I saw another one. Kuwagamon Number Two was in the desert of the Continent of Server, and he was as grumpy as the one that we met on File Island. Only, this thing was huge, and he was ten times as strong! If the good Digimon Piximon wasn't walking by, Kuwagamon would've eaten us for lunch.

So, here's Kuwagamon Number Three. And so, due to experience with other Kuwagamon, I was having a panic attack.

The third Kuwagamon stopped and turned to face me. You didn't even need to tell me to run like hell- I was already off before Kuwagamon turned his head.

But the odd thing was Kuwagamon turned back around and kept going towards the clock tower and not after me. I looked back to see him lumbering towards the crowd. "Huh?" I asked myself. I slowly walked up to the pack of Pokemon and Digimon. As I walked through the crowd, I saw the fresh-kill pile. It then hit me- Kuwagamon had tons of food here, and didn't want to eat a chewy, hairy soccer-nut when he had unlimited access to mice.

I pushed my way to the clock tower. Right under the clock tower were Psystar and Redtail. Psystar held up one of the spoons, and the noisy, busy crowd fell silent. You could have dropped a pin and heard it from the other side of the room if not for me asking, "What's going on? Why did everyone stop talking?"

"Shhh! Shut up back there!" hissed a yellow-orange creature with brown ears and a long tail that I'd never seen before. I assumed he was a Pokemon.

"Me and Redtail have an announcement!" Psystar said loudly. "It is important and revolutionary!"

"They finally found out how to make stuffed animals filled with food?" I asked.

"Shut up!" yelled the yellow orange creature. He spun around and lashed his tail at me. Then, he took a good look at me, saw my Digivice and squeaked "A DigiDestined!" and scampered into the crowd.

"What's his deal?" I asked Agumon. Agumon just shrugged.

"Today, the DigiDestined have defeated Apocalymon and ended his reign over the Digital World!" Psystar cried. Everybody cheered.

"But-" Redtail said, and everyone stopped cheering- "someone hacked into the system that controlled the hologram Gennai. Using it, he summoned a cable car and sent all the DigiDestined back to the Human World."

"WHAT?!" yelled the Kuwagamon.

"Yes, it's true!" Redtail said. Then, he began to shoot fire out of his mouth. "I-HATE-WHEN-ORDER-IS-BROKEN!" he cried. "I'LL BLAST THEM WITH MY OVERHEAT! I'LL BLAST THEM! I'LL BLAST THEM!"

I gulped. If this is what Redtail did when somebody broke the rules, I was going to be on the receiving end of that fire sooner or later. So, I just began to whistle innocently.

Psystar walked up to Redtail and waved one of his spoons over him. Redtail started to calm down. "I'll…blast 'em…" he mumbled. Redtail pulled into his shell and began to sleep.

"The system that controls Gennai, as you all know well," Psystar went on "controls many of the things in Base. I was about to use it to tell the DigiDestined to come here and train to become warriors. The cable car was made as an option for any DigiDestined to bow out if they did not wish to join us. However, when I went to go do so, I saw an unidentified Pokemon or Digimon at the controls. Using Psychic Spoon Toss, I batted him off the controls from a distance. The scoundrel ran off. I gave chase, but he was too quick and got away.

"You all also know about the death of Seapelt, the previous deputy. It happened only hours before the Gennai system was taken over. We are assuming that the same Pokemon or Digimon that took the system over attacked Seapelt, however, I cannot be sure.

"I then checked in to tell the DigiDestined that the Gennai they'd just seen was a fake and that they had to come to Base as soon as they could. But by that point, it was too late. The DigiDestined were all on the rouge cable car, but the car had crossed over into the Human World. Now, the Gennai system can only control things in the Digital World. Due to this, we lost all of the DigiDestined. All, that is, except one."

I gulped. The focus of the meeting was going to turn to me. I started to slowly back away.

"For some reason- we don't know why- one lone DigiDestined chose to stay in the Digital World," Psystar said. "That DigiDestined has already underwent his Halfborn ceremony and is right here in this crowd." Psystar began to scan the crowd for me. I started to run from the crowd. I'll admit, I was nervous. I mean, come on, I just turned into a four-legged angel ten seconds ago, and now Psystar expected me to show myself off to every single Digimon and Pokemon in Base?! The guy was nuts!

"Taichi, I can see you back there," Psystar said. "Why don't you come up here and show everyone you've come to Base?"

I was about to say "'Cuz I'm nervous, that's why!", but held my tongue. There was no way I was telling anybody I was nervous, especially a bunch of mons I didn't even know!

"Yea, Tai, go up there," Agumon said. "Show everybody you came, otherwise Psystar will look foolish talking about a DigiDestined no one knows is here."

I gulped. I don't know what possessed me to slowly drag towards the clock tower, but I wanted to tell it to stop. My heart was pounding. I slammed my eyes shut, and when I opened them, I found myself in front of the clock tower with Psystar, Redtail (who was still snoozing away) and Agumon.

"This is the leader of the DigiDestined," Psystar cried. "His name, as most of you know, is Taichi Kamiya."

"But seriously, call me Tai," I said nervously.

"He has chosen to come to Base and begin his warrior training," Psystar said to the crowd. Then, he babbled on about all the stuff I did in the Digital World. That's all stuff you probably already know, so I won't bore you with this part of the speech. I will tell you that, during this part of the speech, Psystar sounded like the teacher on Charlie Brown- "Wha wha wha wha hwa…"

Instead, I will skip to when Psystar turned to me and said, "Taichi, is there anything you wish to say to Base?"

"Yes," I said. "First of all, please, everybody, call me Tai! I HATE the name Taichi! It sounds like a yoga pose!"

"Yea, whatever, Taichi!" said some obnoxious mon in the crowd.

I mumbled curses at him. Then, I said, "Well, people, this is who I am. Big wings and all. Learn it, live it, love it!" I sighed. Would I learn to love my new body? It felt so weird. I never had wings for all eleven years of my life. Now, here they were, and only Starstar and Longstar knew what else they did to me.

"Last thing- DOES ANYBODY HAVE CHOCOLATE HERE?!" I cried.

Everybody stared at me like I was nuts. I love chocolate, especially jumbo bars of chocolate. Hey, I was only an eleven-year-old boy!

"Well, while chocolate does exist in the Digital World," Redtail said, "It appears that Piedmon, that greedy leader of the Dark Masters, has hoarded it all for himself. If there's any left, it'd be on top of Infinity Mountain."

Darn. Stupid Piedmon.

"And, um, that's all I've gotta say," I said, nervously surveying the crowd. Every Pokemon and Digimon must have been thinking I was off my rocker by this point. If I said something else quirky, I might wind up in the Digi-Nuthouse.

"Let's give one last big welcome to Taichi," Psystar said.

The warrior Pokemon and Digimon blinked at me. Then, they walked to the fresh-kill pile and proceeded to throw fresh-kill at me. All kinds of fresh-kill. Rabbits, leaves, small birds, fish and more, all thrown in my general direction.

"Stop! Stop it!" Psystar said. There was one last mouse that was pitched into my hair, and then, everyone stopped and gazed in fear at Psystar. "Taichi is an apprentice. He is as much of a member of Base as all of you are. Treat him as you would the warrior standing next to you." Psystar turned to me.

"Taichi, I would be honored to mentor you in the ways of the warrior," Psystar said. "I see it will be hard to earn the trust of the others. But, you will do it. I see you as a great warrior, maybe even leader of Base."

I began to blush a bit. "Le-leader?" I asked. Sure, I could lead a group of kids about my age- I just did it. But a whole society of warriors who just threw food in my face?! I wasn't so sure I could lead them.

"Yes, leader," Psystar said. "I cannot live forever, Taichi."

"What about Redtail?" I asked. "He's your right hand mon."

"Yes, and if I die, he will become leader, so long as he's still deputy," Psystar said. "But, I feel that he will die before me, and you will become leader instead."

I was trying to take in what Psystar just said. Me, as leader…

"That is all for now," Psystar announced. "Taichi, you will begin training tomorrow. This meeting is dismissed."

At these words, the warriors dismissed and went in a million directions. "Taichi, Agumon, if you ever need me, you can come to the leader's den anytime," Psystar said. He then went in the direction of the leader's den.

I stood there with Agumon, totally confused with Redtail still napping next to me. Tomorrow, my training would begin.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- Look, Matt, I didn't mean to dump you in Chapter 7! Those fangirls were savages! I was gonna bring you with me into Chapter 8.

Matt- Yea right.

GoggleMaster01- Well, guys, it looks like I'll be busy for a while. Until next time, see ya!

Wally Jr. isn't here. He got sued by Matt's symbol person.


	10. My First Night in the Digital World

GoggleMaster01- Sorry this took so long. I must have edited this chapter countless times to get it just right, and I still think that Tai is slightly OOC. Digimon is not mine, as you know, and neither is Pokemon or Warriors, as I said in Chapter 1. In the last chapter, Psystar decided to introduce Tai to Base, and Base doesn't really like him much- now…

Matt- Ahem.

GoggleMaster01- Yea, I lost the lawsuit against Matt, so now I have to include him in this chapter.

Tai- That's not fair, though, GM01. You said Matt was going to appear in a sequel!

Matt- What?

Tai- I said you appear in a sequel, got a problem?!

Matt- A sequel?! This fic is taking forever to be written! You expect me to wait for a SEQUEL?! : (

Tai- YEAH, MATT! GET OUTTA HERE! *raises fist*

GoggleMaster01- Okay, Tai-kun, that's enough. Get back into the fic. You'll be sleeping in this chapter. Fun, huh?

Tai- Sleeping? Yay! Sleeping! *goes back into the fic*

GoggleMaster01- Okay Matt, I'll tell you what. You can't go in the normal storyline because I'd have to mess around with the whole plot to incorporate you. You can, however, go in Tai's dream sequence so you don't mess up the plot, but are still in the fic. Deal?

Matt- *rolls eyes* Whatever. *hops into my fic world*

GoggleMaster01- Okay, enough yapping. Onto the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 10

My First Night in the Digital World

**I** started to feel tired. "Agumon, I need to go to bed," I told him. Agumon yawned in reply.

Redtail's shell began to stir. He pulled himself out of his shell. "Blast…the- hey, where did everyone go?" Redtail asked.

"Everyone left," I said with a yawn. "The meeting's over."

"Are you tired, Taichi?" Redtail asked.

Tired? I'd never felt MORE tired! I'd just beaten both Piedmon AND Apocalymon, plus decided to give up my life in the Human World, and then went on this crazy safari in Base. Did I mention I changed species? I only wanted a nice warm bed to sleep in.

"Yea, I'm a little sleepy," I mumbled.

"I can show you and Agumon to where the apprentices sleep," Redtail said. "Follow me."

Agumon and I followed Redtail to the edge of Pokemon Square. There was a wall, and in the wall was a huge curtain that read "Apprentices". We went under the curtain. On the other side was a huge room filled with many piles of moss arranged in neat rows. Redtail lead us to two piles that were side by side.

Agumon jumped on the pile of moss. "Oh, this feels great!" he said as he curled up in a ball. "Good night, Tai." Agumon fell sleep on the spot.

Redtail stared at me. "Um, do ya have any beds?" I asked.

"No, just moss, but it makes a good mattress," Redtail said.

"There's not enough for me to lie down on!" I said.

"You don't lie down, Taichi," Redtail said. "You curl up like Agumon just did."

"Say what?" I asked.

"Curl up, Taichi!" Redtail yelled.

Normally, I would have yelled something like "I'd rather sleep on the ground like I did last night, and the night before, and ALL the nights I spent in the DigiWorld!" and started a big fat argument. But, I was so tired that I felt as if I was sleeping on my feet. I didn't really feel like arguing. I felt like sleeping.

So, I flung myself onto the moss bed and curled up. My big stupid wings were in my way. I was lying on top of one of my wings, and the other one stuck up like an antenna, making any movement impossible. Even so, I was so tired that my eyelids slid shut the second I hit moss.

The moss was much softer than I expected. It was nothing compared to my mattress at home, but it was soft and earthy. It felt good. Before I knew it, I was sleeping.

At some point in the night, my eyelids began to twitch and I could feel my eyeballs moving around. I was about to enter Dreamland. My eyes opened, but I wasn't in the apprentices' den. I was in the park in Odibia where I used to go to play soccer. I could sort of tell that this was a dream and that I was still snoozing away, but for some reason, it was so vivid that I felt like I was really there.

I began to walk around the park. Oddly enough, I walked about on all fours again. I didn't stand up this time, though. I felt comfortable.

As I walked, I saw a whole crowd of people on the soccer field, my favorite place on the planet. "What in the world?" I asked. There were never this many people at a soccer game. Did someone dig up a giant worm?

I pressed my way towards the crowd to see what was going on. As I got closer, I saw the crowd was surrounding a large object. And then, the object became clear.

It was the rouge cable car from the DigiWorld. The door suddenly creaked open and a head with spiky blonde hair poked out.

"Matt! Hey! Over here!" I began to scream. For some reason, Matt didn't hear me. "Yo, Matt!" I yelled. He still didn't hear me. I pushed my way through the crowd to get closer. I waved my hand in front of Matt's face. He didn't respond. Matt just stared at the crowd. Then, he stuck his head back into the cable car, and I followed him inside.

The inside of the car was very simple. It had a row of green seats on either side. The other DigiDestined were sitting on these seats. I saw T.K., Sora, Joe, Mimi, (who wasn't wearing her favorite hat for some reason) Izzy and Kari. "Hey guys!" I cried out. No one paid any attention to me. Their eyes were fixed on Matt.

"Did you see them?" Sora asked Matt.

"My dad's not there, but the rest of our parents are right out the window," Matt said.

"Really?" T.K. asked. He pressed his little nose to the window. Then, he started to squeal, "I see my mom! I see my mom!"

Everyone else turned to the windows and scanned for their parents. "Yo! Back here! What about me?!" I screamed. Why were they ignoring me? Maybe they couldn't see me. Maybe this was one of those dreams where I could see them, but they couldn't see me.

I decided to scan for my parents in the crowd. And I saw them almost immediately. They were right in front of the cable car. And they brought my cat. "Mom, Dad, Miko," I said.

Kari seemed like she hadn't found them yet. "Hey Kari, I-" I started to say. Then, I remembered she couldn't see me. "Stupid Tai," I said, slapping myself. At that time, Kari stood EXACTLY WHERE I WAS STANDING and found my family. She started waving.

She had walked right through me! I didn't exist in this dream. NO ONE could see me. I let a tear roll down my cheek. I missed my mom and dad and sister so much. Why the hell did I want to stay here? Then, I looked at my wings. My huge, proud, white wings with orange speckles. I stayed to use these wings, to fly the skies of the Digital World. I felt torn between the two worlds, but I knew that there would be no turning back at this point. I'd made my decision.

Kari ran out of the cable car with T.K., and the others followed them. Matt was last to leave the car. "Where the hell are you, Dad?" he mumbled. "Why- why are you never there for me?" Then, he held his head high and walked out of the cable car.

As soon as he left, a bunch of flashbulbs went off. I peeked outside. There were a bunch of news reporters there, all set to write news stories about the DigiDestined saving the world. Sora's mom, Izzy's parents and my parents ran out of the crowd first, followed by Matt and T.K.'s mom, Mimi's weird parents and Joe's parents and brother Jim. The DigiDestined lept into the arms of their parents for hugs.

That's when one little kid with a missing tooth said, "Where's Thai?"

My mom heard and she began to search the crowd for me. She turned to my dad and said, "Honey, where's Tai?" She sounded worried.

"I don't know," my dad replied. Then, his eyes widened. "Oh my God, where's my son?!" he screamed. "WHERE'S MY SON?!"

"BACK HERE!" I screamed. I wasn't surprised when no one heard me, saw me or acknowledged my existence.

The other parents looked at my dad like he was nuts. Matt then walked up to them and said, "Your son is lost in the Digital World and he's never coming back. Thank you. Good day," in the flattest possible voice. Then, he walked back to his mom.

My mom started sobbing like crazy. "My-my poor baby!" she cried. She started sobbing into my dad's shoulder.

Kari said, "Mom, Dad, it's okay. Tai wanted to stay. He just wanted to have more adventures there."

"But he was going to become a diplomat!" my dad yelled. I rolled my eyes. Dad was obsessed with trying to make me become a diplomat. I don't know why. Maybe because he was one himself. But now, since I was in the Digital World, there was no way he could make me do that.

Good. There was no way I was going to spend the rest of my life wearing a stupid suit to work every single day.

"Wh-wh-who cares about Tai beco-oming a d-diplomat?!" my mom cried. "All that m-matters is he left us and he's never c-c-coming back!" She kept crying and whining on.

"Mom, I'm back here! I'm safe! I'm alive! Please, Mom, you have to listen to me!" I cried. Of course, nothing had changed in the past two minutes. I was still completely invisible.

At that moment, I heard a voice call out, "So, your boy never came home, did he?" I turned around to see Matt's dad walking out of the crowd.

**"Sesshoku**…" Matt's mom said flatly.

Sesshoku walked up to my mom and dad. "Sounds like he chose to stay in the Digital World," he said with a dark smile.

"Yes, but how did you know?" my dad asked.

"You could hear your wife in Kyoto, Kamiya-san!" Sesshoku yelled. "She was screaming and sobbing so loud. Look, I can relieve her heartbreak. I can bring back your son, but it could result in the destruction of the Digital World."

Oh boy. Every time you think it's safe, another bad guy comes along threatening to destroy the Digital World. I sighed. If my dad agreed to let Sesshoku help him, I'd have more work to do protecting DigiWorld.

"You can bring Tai back?" my dad asked. "Well, I don't care what happens to the Digital World as long as I get my kid back."

"See, one of my friends from high school was on a team of programmers attempting to create artificial life," Sesshoku began. "They wound up creating the Digital World, which manifested itself in the digital networking of our world and went out of control. However, when a Digimon dies, it turns back into data and goes back to the original server where the Digital World was created. There, if it was a good Digimon, the data is recycled and returns to the Digital World. But, if it was bad, it gets moved to the Recycle Bin. Now, the Recycle Bin empties when there are 1000 bad Digimon in it. This is what happens according to my friend.

"But, until the bin empties, any Digimon can be removed from it and brought back to life with a special code that only a few know. My friend is one of the few that knows the code, so I can get him to revive the Dark Masters that the DigiDestined had just defeated."

When he said that the plan involved reviving the Dark Masters, my heart skipped a beat. Didn't I just finish off Piedmon?! Only a lunatic would want to bring him and the others back to life!

"These Digimon are the most ruthless that the DigiDestined have ever faced! If we give them the order to capture Tai, they won't give up! They won't give up until they have him! They'll hand Tai over to you personally! But, the Digital World will almost surely be destroyed as they search!" Sesshoku cried.

Cute plan Sesshoku, but there was one hitch. The Dark Masters weren't the toughest of the tough. What happened to Apocalymon? Maybe Sesshoku didn't know about him. Hopefully, the others kept their mouths shut. I didn't want to fight him again. It took all eight of us to kill him last time. I stood no chance on my own.

Of course, Joe had to correct Sesshoku. He loves everything to be nice and orderly and correct. "What about Apocalymon?" he asked. "He was a really strong Digimon!"

"Apocalymon?!" Sesshoku said. "My friend told me about him! A ruthless virus Digimon. How did I forget HIM?! Perhaps, if we were to revive the Dark Masters AND Apocalymon, we could get Tai back for sure!" He turned to my family. "So, what do you say, Kamiya-san? This is your decision, not mine. Do you want to get Tai back and let thousands of Digimon die terrible deaths? Or, will you spare the Digital World, but never see your boy again?"

My dad thought for a bit. "Don't do it, Dad!" Kari said. "I don't want Gatomon to die!"

"I'm sorry, Kari, but this may be the only way to get Tai back," Dad said. "How much will this cost?"

"It won't cost a single yen," Sesshoku replied. "But I will need to set up a system of computers in your house, and me, my friend and some of his colleges will have to move in for a while. But, won't it be worth it when you see your little boy back home safe and sound?

"If you don't take up my offer, you'll never see Tai again. You'll always have that one empty chair at the dinner table, all those family pictures with him in them around the house, the empty bed in his room. Do you really want everything in the house to remind you that your little boy is gone forever?"

It was a pretty decent sob story, but if Dad fell for that, millions of Digimon would die. I hated Sesshoku now, and when I hate someone, I mock them. I usually don't mock adults. See, being raised in Japan, I'd been taught about respect for my elders, honorary suffixes, all that stuff. If I messed up a suffix or yelled a curse at someone, I'd get in big trouble. I'll admit I messed up on that several times, (once, I called a really harsh soccer coach a monkey) but I generally used the suffixes and was polite- around adults. But, I was invisible to the crowd. Who the hell was going to hear me? So, I was all clear to mock Sesshoku. Plus, this was a dream anyway. It wasn't like it was real or anything.

Then, why was it so vivid? Like this was all really happening someplace? The grass felt soft beneath my feet. The sky was clear, the buildings as tall as they were in real life. I felt like this was real, like the Digital World was really in danger.

And so, I began to fake cry and mock Sesshoku. "Whaa! Whaa! Oh, boo hoo hoo, what a terrible sob story! For crying out loud, AGUMON could tell a better sob story than that, and the only sob story he told was 'Once upon a time, I cried. The End.'!"

No one heard me. I was having a blast mocking Sesshoku. "You want a piece of me? YOU WANNA PIECE OF ME?!" I went on. "Bring it on, Mr. Ishida-dude! OI OI OI OI OI!" Remember, I had been taught to respect my elders, but this elder was going to cause a Digi-homicide if Dad let him. I couldn't respect that. The DigiWorld was now my home. I wouldn't let him destroy it.

Besides, if no one could see or hear me, I could say whatever the hell I wanted to Sesshoku and not get yelled at for being disrespectful.

While the sob story was a joke for me and a reason to mock Sesshoku, it having a different effect on my dad. Maybe it was a parent thing, but as he listened to Sesshoku's sob story, he was crying like a baby. "Well, now that you put it like that," my dad said. "Maybe I could-"

"Don't listen to that big lump of overcooked noodles! Don't listen to that rear end of a monkey! Don't listen to the old fart with goat breath!" I yelled. I had these taunts and more all curled up inside me that I couldn't say due to my upbringing. Now that I was invisible, I could let out all my taunts.

"Those Digimon could kill Agumon! They might even kill me! If you really love me, just let me go!" I said. No one heard me, of course. "Did I mention that Mr. Ishida is a-" I then proceeded to say something that is so dirty, I can't say it in this story.

When I said it, a sick relief washed over me, not because I said it, but because now, I'd never have to say it. I'd never curse at my elders again. All of the taunts were out of me. I could start fresh at Base.

The other DigiDestined were shouting in protest. "Don't do it, Mr. Kamiya!" Sora yelled. "Biyomon might be killed!"

"Patamon too!" T.K. cried, tears streaming down his face.

"Yea, and Gomamon, Palmon, Tentomon. And Gabumon," Matt said. "They're our friends! You can't just kill them to get Tai back!"

"Listen to the children!" Matt's mom said. "Kamiya-san, don't listen to him! The children are trying to tell us that the Digimon are as important as us humans! We can't let them die!"

My dad thought for a little bit. "Is there another way?" he asked.

"No," Sesshoku said. "Not without risking your son's life."

After a bit, Dad actually said, no joke, "Okay, Ishida-san. If it's the only way, I'll just have to let you do it."

"GATOMON!" Kari screamed. Tears streamed down her face. "GATOMON, NO! GATOMON!"

I couldn't take it anymore. Taunting Sesshoku wasn't enough for me. I rushed up to Sesshoku and balled my hand into a fist. I wasn't gonna let him get away with killing millions of innocent Digimon just to capture me. But, when I got up to Sesshoku and punched him, my hand went right through him. I fell through the floor and started descending miles under the earth.

All I could hear were Kari's pounding screams in my head and Sesshoku laughing. I had to go back, had to help Kari in any way I could, but I couldn't stop falling. I had wings- couldn't I fly?! A black vortex formed beneath me, and I fell in. Then, everything went black.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- That's the end of the chapter. Oh, by the way, I got the name Sesshoku from some unreliable Japanese to English dictionary that claimed it was Japanese for food. (What? I was hungry when I named him!) Also, the bit where Matt walks up to Tai's parents and breaks the news to them was part of some comedy bit I thought up with Giratina. Me and Giratina also thought up this.

**Tai Kamiya, what is your favorite color?**

**Tai Kamiya is my favorite color.**

**Tai Kamiya is really a color.**

**Tai Kamiya is a shade of BROWN!**

That's Tai's favorite color song. You like? Until Chapter 11, enjoy.

Wally Jr. is not going to appear because Matt doesn't like him and said I can't use him in this chapter, the party pooper.


	11. Hunting

GoggleMaster01- I'm back at last! Sorry I haven't been updating. Bad author, bad! *smacks self* Well, I'm back, and I have more fic! In the last chapter, Tai dreamt that Matt's dad Sesshoku was plotting to bring the Dark Masters and Apocalymon back to life. But, it was just a dream- right? Right? Well, Digimon, Pokemon and Warriors still don't belong to me, otherwise I'd be filthy stinkin' rich and have no need to waste my time on fanfictions, and enjoy this fic!

* * *

Chapter 11

Hunting

**I** woke up panting and soaked in sweat. I was back in the apprentice's den. Agumon was standing right in front of me. "Good morning, Tai," he said.

"'Morning, Agumon," I mumbled. I got up and stretched. At first, when I felt something on my back stretching, I was confused, but then remembered that I had wings now. This was going to take some getting used to.

I got up and went back to the place where I got my bath when I first came to freshen up a bit. I'll let you in on a little secret- I'm terrified of haircuts. Why, you ask? Maybe it's the cold vinyl apron the guy puts around your neck. Maybe it's the fear of those sharp scissors getting lodged in my ear. Or maybe it's simply because I'm afraid the barber will make me bald. I don't know. Never liked haircuts, never will.

My parents made a deal with me that, as long as I took care of my hair, I'd be safe from the terror of haircuts. And, every day after that, you bet I did. I made sure to wash, blow dry and brush it every morning. That was the first thing I did. I didn't like doing it, but I had done it every morning up to this point.

I had even brushed it in the Digital World because Mom had sent me to the summer camp with a small brush I kept in my pocket so I could use it in case I got separated from the group during a hike or chased out of camp by a bear or something. I tried to explain to Mom that, if I was chased out of camp by a bear, I'd be more worried about getting back to camp or killing the bear than making sure I looked my best, but Mom didn't understand my logic. She sent me with the brush anyway.

After searching around the room, I found eight toothbrushes and toothpaste. These guys had really been expecting us, huh? I took one of the toothbrushes (the orange one) and proceeded to brush my teeth.

I brushed my teeth every day because of my parents too. I never brushed my teeth for the longest time. Then, when I was six years old, Dad took me with him to the dentist when he was getting a cavity filled. He told me, "This is what happens to bad little boys who don't brush their teeth." And then, he forced me to sit there and watch while the dentist worked on his cavity. And you can bet that, every day after that, I brushed my teeth for a solid two minutes.

This morning, however, something was different. I couldn't put my finger on it until I rinsed and bared my teeth into the mirror. Every tooth had sharpened to a point, sort of like Agumon's teeth. I made the mistake of touching one of them.

"YOW!" I cried. The tooth was a sharp as a carving knife. I ran my finger under the water. The water stung, only a little bit at first, then, I felt pure pain. Not unholy pain, like when I got my powers, but more like a wasp-sting-in-your-rear pain. I yanked my finger out from under the water. This was the single craziest thing that ever happened to me. Water never actually hurt me like that before!

I decided to shake it off and got a good look at my wings in the mirror. They were messy from last night's attempts to move about, but I kind of liked them better that way. Could I really fly with these wings? I spread them. They were so big, they seemed to be the size of Texas!

Hey, the bigger the better, right?

I went back to the apprentice's den to catch up with Agumon. My stomach rumbled. "Agumon, I'm hungry," I said. "I feel like running to the big pile of stuff by the clock tower and swallowing it in one gulp."

"That's the fresh-kill pile, remember, Tai?" Agumon said.

"Yeah, the fresh-kill pile," I said. "Whatever."

We rushed up to the fresh-kill pile. I was about to jump into it, roll about and dig in, but when I lept into the air, I landed on a gray shell with red stones on it.

Redtail lifted up his head and turned to face me. "There you are, Taichi!" he yelled. "Psystar has been waiting for you for hours!"

"Where is he?" I asked.

"OUTSIDE!!!" Redtail yelled so loud that the sheer force caused me to bounce backwards into Agumon.

"'Outside' outside?" I asked.

"Yes, outside, around the place where you found Base!" Redtail said. He looked like he was about to shoot fire like he had yesterday at the meeting.

"I'm going, I'm going, yikes," I said. Me and Agumon shot out the dark tunnel where we entered Pokemon Square from.

Once outside, I closed my eyes and inhaled- and got a whiff of the forest for the first time. I had been able to smell people and objects before, but I couldn't tell what was coming off of what. My mother could have been easily mistaken for the math homework I did last week- it was all a jumble. But now, I noticed that, not only could I smell everything really, really well, I could finally tell what it was.

I could tell that an earthy smell was coming off of the dirt, and the smell of pine came off some of the trees, plus there were a billion other smells that I can't use human words to describe. But, all the smells meant one thing to me- home. This was what my home smelled like.

Hey, beats the cat litter and discarded pizza and scraps of my mom's cooking in my old room!

"Oh, Agumon," I said. "This is-"

"What are you standing there sniffing for, Halfborn?" came a growl. I opened my eyes. A huge creature was standing in front of me. He was around the size of Garurumon and looked like a black, blue and yellow lion with a wild black mane and fierce red eyes. He had a stubby black tail, too. At his side stood a Salamon, but it wasn't Kari's Salamon. This one had a torn ear.

"Um, my name's not Halfborn, it's Tai, nice ta meetcha…" I said nervously.

Salamon made a face. "You're right, Sensei, he is ugly!" Salamon chirped.

"I'm always right, Bronzepaw," the creature growled in reply. "It's quite silly of Psystar to be welcoming these Halfborns here with open arms, eh? Half human knockoffs like this one can never become real warriors. The warrior code does say that humans cannot join us."

"I- am actually a very good-looking guy-" I began to say.

At that point, Psystar walked up to Bronzepaw and his "sensei". "That's enough, Lionstorm," he said.

"Psystar-sama," Lionstorm bowed his huge head. "Your apprentice is late." I waved and grinned.

"I know," Psystar said. "I'll let you slide this time, as this is your first day, but never again. In the wild, time stands still for no one. You must be trained to survive, and today's lesson is important. You must learn to hunt and forage- no more free food from the fresh-kill pile. From now on, to eat, you must hunt, whether you are Pokemon, Digimon or Halfborn. It may seem unfair, but that's how it works out here."

"Oh, so you mons DO hunt!" I said.

"Yes, of course we do, Tai," Agumon said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, maybe it has something to do with Gabumon saying Digimon hunt for themselves, and then what happened?" I asked. "You guys never hunted! You all mooched our human food whenever we ate!"

"Which is the exact reason why these hunting lessons are important for Agumon as well," Psystar said. "Bronzepaw, show these two the correct hunting position."

The rude Salamon with the torn ear stuck his rear in the air and lay his front paws out in front of him. He reminded me of our cat Miko when he stalks mice.

"Oh no," I said. "No way. I did not sign up for this!"

Agumon was already in the hunting crouch. "It's easy, Tai!" he said happily.

I was about to say something when Lionstorm walked up behind me. "Do it, or I'll make you," he growled. I felt a cold claw on my neck.

"Okay, okay, here I go!" I panicked and got in the right position. "Meow."

"Lionstorm, don't scare the poor thing," Psystar scolded. "He must adjust to our life at his own pace."

"He's part human," Lionstorm growled. "He can never adjust to our life."

"Um, I'm standing right here," I said.

Psystar turned to me. "Okay, Taichi, I see you," he said. "That's a nice hunting crouch. But, there's one more thing. Unsheathe your claws."

"Claws?!" I asked. "Whoa whoa whoa, back the truck up a bit. I don't have claws."

"You _didn't_ have claws," Psystar said. "But now, you do. They are underneath your fingernails. Do you feel them?"

"Well, now that you mention it…" I began, staring down at my fingertips. I did feel something sharp scraping the back of my fingernail. "Yea, I think I feel them."

"Good," Psystar told me. "Now- are you following me, Taichi?- push your claws out from underneath your fingernails."

"Push them out?" I asked.

"Just picture a trap door opening," Psystar said.

I did. I felt a strange sensation in my fingertips and heard something ripping. I dared to look down at my fingertips. At the end of each of my fingertips was a single black claw. The claws were curved and sharp like a scythe. They were so sharp that they ripped right through my gloves. I didn't really know what to make of them.

"This is sick," I said. "I have claws. COOL!"

"They may be sharp now, but they'll wear down, Taichi," Psystar said. "You'll need those claws to hunt and defend yourself. If they get dull, you'll need to sharpen them, but you don't need to worry about that now.

"Anyway, today, you'll learn to hunt mice. Since mice are so small, they will feel your footsteps BEFORE they catch your scent, so you have to step lightly and carefully to catch one. Then, when you think you have it in place, pounce upon the mouse, pin it down with your claws and bite hard on its scruff, which is located on the back of the neck. To pounce correctly, you must…wha hwa wha wha wha…"

Psystar went into Charlie Brown's Teacher Mode. I was getting bored. Suddenly, a mouse sped by my nose.

"MOUSIE!!!" I threw all caution to the wind and sped on all fours after the mouse. The mouse ran scared, and I continued to pursue it at high speed. I flung myself at the tasty tidbit, fell flat on my face, and watched the mouse scurry away.

"Damn it," I mumbled. Okay, maybe it was time to listen to Psystar, because I really, really wanted to catch that mouse and prove to Lionstorm and Bronzepaw that I COULD become a warrior!

I slowly moved along at negative three miles an hour. Eventually, I saw the mouse. It was sitting underneath a tree. Thinking I was long gone, it stopped to nibble some grass.

"Easy score," I whispered, puling myself into a hunting crouch. "Enjoy your last moments of freedom, little mousie. You're mine."

The mouse stopped nibbling and turned to face me. "PARTY TIME!" I cried, lunging at the mouse. This time, I managed to catch the mouse's tail in my teeth. The tiny creature squeaked and tried to run away.

"Nuh uh," I said. I put the wriggling mouse in my hand, then grabbed its scruff in my mouth before it could send me on another wild goose chase through the forest. Even in my mouth, even when it was pretty much beat, the mouse tried to run to Mexico.

"Nuh UH!" I bit hard on the mouse's scruff until it lay limp, dangling from my mouth. I could taste the mouse's blood in my mouth. I stood upright, spit the mouse out into my hand and looked at it.

My very first catch.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- And there it is, Chapter 11 at last. More will come, hopefully soon. Also.. PLEASE REVIEW MY FIC!!! When you don't review, it makes me think no one's reading. If you read, please review so I know you read my fic! I've even enabled anonymous reviews (they were turned off before) so there should be no reason you were unable to review. Please review my Pokemon fic Ruby, Sapphire and Yellow too- it risks being discontinued!

In case I don't update, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Day that Taiora (or Sorato) was proved as a Canon Pairing in the Digimon Christmas Special or Happy Whatever Holiday You're Celebrating this Year!

O_o

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: :

Wally Jr.'s back, and he wants you to review too!


	12. Battle Practice

GoggleMaster01- LONG TIME NO SEE! Sorry, I'm just real lazy. That, and I'm using a Mac now. (My crap PC is in the basement, obsolete!) The move from PC to Mac is difficult, and and I had to wait a while until I got Pages to write fanficiton. So, at long last, here's Chapter 12 of A New Life.

Oh, yea- I DON'T OWN DIGIMON, GAWDANGIT!

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Chapter 12

Battle Practice

**W**hen I came trotting back up to Psystar, Lionstorm and Bronzepaw (Agumon was off elsewhere hunting) carrying the mouse between my clawed fingers, Psystar turned my way and said, "Congratulations, Taichi! You caught your first fresh-kill. Although next time, could you please wait until I have finished the lesson?"

"Yea, sure thing, no problem, Sensei," I said.

Psystar told me to thank Team StarClan for the lives of all the prey I caught when I was done hunting by saying, "Team StarClan, thank you for helping me hunt and thank you for putting the creatures of Earth here with us." Then, he let me eat the mouse I caught. When I was done picking the sweet meat from the bones, Psystar gave me the mouse's skull. "All apprentices keep the skull of their first prey," he explained. "It's good luck for future hunts. Don't lose it."

"Okay," I said, putting the mouse skull in my pocket.

That's when Bronzepaw decided to be a jerk. "A mouse, huh? Any old idiot can catch a mouse. A monkey could do it! You still got a LOONG way ta go, loser!"

"And I need to teach you some manners, Bumpaw!" I said, lunging at him with my claws outstretched. Suddenly, I froze in midair. I couldn't move. I didn't know what happened until I heard Psystar say, "Taichi, we do not attack other apprentices." I moved my head the tiny bit I could in his direction. Psystar was holding his spoons in the air and tapping his foot. He was suspending me in midair.

"Put me down!" I squealed.

"I will," Psystar said, "if you put the claws away and promise not to attack Bronzepaw."

"I promise I won't attack!" I cried. "Now, I can't put my claws away unless you put me down so I can move!"

Psystar sighed. He put me down, and I stared at my claws. "'Kay, retract, claws," I said to my claws. Nothing happened.

"Just pull the claws back into your fingernails," Psystar instructed. Awkwardly, I did so. The claws vanished, leaving huge holes in the fingertips of my gloves.

"Anyway, come, Taichi," Psystar said. "You will learn how to battle now." Psystar headed back into Base, and me, Lionstorm, Agumon and Bumpaw followed him. We went back into Pokemon Square, and then proceeded to the west. There was a hallway, and we went down. There, immediately to the right, were three doors. They read, from left to right, "Grassy Terrain", "Rough Terrain" and "Water Terrain".

"These are the rooms that apprentices train in," Psystar said to me. "I was going to let you and Bronzepaw battle, but, after seeing what you did up on the surface, I decided you will battle Agumon instead."

"Battle? Agumon?" I asked. "I don't want to battle him. He's my friend. Besides, what if he cooks me with Pepper Breath?"

"You will only be mock battling, armed only with claws and fangs," Psystar said. "As long as you don't bite hard or attack the neck or chest, neither of you will be hurt. Now, since you are new, Taichi, you will have choice of terrain. Pick any room you want."

I looked at the three doors. "Okay, Rough Terrain sounds rough. And Water Terrain sounds wet. So, I guess that leaves the Grassy Terrain," I said. I opened the door on the far left- and my mouth gaped open in shock. On the other side of the door was a huge grassy field. There were no trees- just grass, and a clear blue sky. The grass was soft and smelled sweet. If there were two soccer goals in the room and a ball, I'd have thought I died and went to heaven.

"Wow," I said. "Are we still in Base?"

"We are," Psystar said. "Except the cave grass, everything in this room is one hundred percent holographic."

"Cave grass?" I asked.

"Grass that grows underground," Psystar said. "It's very common in the Digital World. When Base was dug out, we left the grass here for apprentices to train on a soft battlefield."

"And this is all fake?" I asked.

"Yes," Psystar said. "All of it was made with computer projection. The sky is fake, as is the breeze that sometimes blows through. It is the work of several fans we've hidden in the cavern."

I suddenly felt the breeze Psystar was talking about. Suddenly, a happy feeling washed over me. I flung myself on the grass and rolled about. I pressed my cheek to the grass and rubbed it. I'd never been happier in my life.

My bliss was broken when Bronzepaw decided it would be so much fun to step on me. He ran over my body and out into the field. I sat up with a start. Bumpaw turned around and smiled nastily. "You like that, Halfborn scum?!" he cried. "Take another one!" He ran back towards me and ran over me again. He proceeded to run back and forth over me, over and over again. The wind was being knocked out of my body. Suddenly, it stopped. I looked up and saw Bumpaw, two inches away, frozen in place. Psystar was freezing him in the same way he froze me. "That's enough, Bronzepaw," he said.

"LET ME GO!" Bronzepaw cried.

"Stop running over Taichi, and I'll release you," Psystar scolded. He had Bumpaw in the same trap I was in- no escape unless you behave. Bumpaw nodded, and he was allowed to move again.

"Lionstorm, you take Bronzepaw to the other side of the room," Psystar said. "Keep him out of trouble. I'll be on the other side with Agumon and Taichi, teaching the Halfborn basic fighting skills."

"Since he doesn't know any!" Bronzepaw said as Lionstorm herded him away. The huge creature glared at me like I was a nice juicy mouse, then continued on his way. "Halfborn," he growled as he walked off, saying the word like he was saying something disgusting.

I'd become a warrior, and then, I'd whip Lionsnot's butt.

I went to the other side of the room with Psystar. "Okay, Taichi, release your claws," Psystar said.

I did as I was told and released my claws. Me and Agumon squared each other down. I gulped. Agumon was one of the Digimon who took Apocalymon down. I stood no chance, even without the use of fire. And besides, I still felt weak from Bumpaw's little number earlier.

"Are you ready?" Psystar said. I wanted to say no, but before I got the chance, Psystar said, "Begin!"

Agumon leapt at me. "Wait!" I yelled. "Aren't you gonna teach me how to fight?!"

"Halfborns learn best by being under pressure and experiencing for themselves," Psystar said. "It'll come to you."

Psystar was right. I caught a mouse all by myself. I could do it!

Agumon jumped me and bit my arm. I yowled in pain. What could I do? There had to be some way to get him off.

"My arm's not a chew toy, Agumon!" I yelled. I shook my arm like crazy, but Agumon stayed put, his wide, flat muzzle still wrapped around my arm.

What were my options? I could run around, shaking my arm, but that would give Bronzepaw something to laugh at. I wasn't going to let THAT happen! I tried to punch Agumon, and a pain crashed through my body. Agumon's scales protected him, and my fist crackled with pain. There had to be another way. What else could I do with my free arm? I could scratch Agumon, but my claws were out- I could accidentally rip Agumon apart! But what choice did I have? I couldn't reach him with my feet to kick, and I couldn't bite him with my fangs. I had little control over my wings, which hung, limp and useless at my sides. I had to do it.

I slashed Agumon's muzzle with my claws. He yowled in surprise and let go. Now was my chance. I sprang at him with my claws out, fangs bared. "Let's see how you like it!" I said, biting Agumon's leg. My fangs sank in. Agumon's scales seemed to hard for a normal punch, but my claws and fangs were just what I needed.

Agumon couldn't make a move with me still attached, but he could shake his leg. I struggled to hang on as I sliced Agumon over and over with my claws. Then, agumon gave a sharp kick, and I went flying into the sky.

SLAM! Psystar was right- the sky was fake- and a solid as a rock! "Loser!" went Bumpaw from below. "You suck!" I snapped.

Then, I began to fall.

"AHH!! HELP ME!" I cried. Suddenly, I stopped falling. Psystar was holding up both spoons. He gently lowered me to the ground. "Taichi, just know I'm not always going to be there to catch you. Go finish your battle. Try to let his guard down."

I got back up, blood pounding in my ears. Agumon jumped on me and knocked the wind out of me. I was pinned to the ground. I tried to push up, but Agumon had me successfully pinned. He let out a roar of triumph.

I remembered what Psystar said- Let his guard down. Suddenly, I had an idea!

I closed my eyes, sucked in my breath, and lay still. "Tai?" Agumon asked. "Tai! Wake up, Tai! Tai!" Agumon started to sniffle. I felt his weight come off of me. He then cradled my head in his clawed hand-things. "Tai, I'm sorry! Please wake up, Tai! Please!"

"Oh, I'm up," I said, exhaling, grabbing Agumon's arm and slamming him to the ground.

"Tai! You had me worried!" Agumon cried.

"I let your guard down, though, huh?" I said. "You okay?"

"I-I think you have me beat," Agumon said. "Don't ever do that again, Tai. You worried me."

"Good job, Taichi!" Psystar walked up to me and patted my head. "You let his guard down, just like I said. And, you played dead. Most apprentices can't do that until they've been training for three months. Keep up the good work."

I nodded. Then, I fell in the grass and rolled around. The sweet scent of grass and victory filled my nose. "Take that, Bumpaw," I whispered. "I'm gonna be a warrior."

I was gonna be good a warrior.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- So, there you have it. Tai's adventures in the Digital World continue! I will not give up on this fic! I am just really bad at updating and the next chapter will alway be written until the end! (Just a matter of when that chapter will be written)

Oh, and you may have noticed in Chapter 6 that Tai could "scent" people and objects clearly, but in Chapter 11, he said it was a jumble until he became a Halfborn. This may be confusing. Let me clear it up. Tai could identify the difference between a normal scent and a person scent before he became a Halfborn. He just couldn't attribute the person scents to anything until he became Halfborn, so, yea. See ya whenever!

O_o O_o

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: : : :

This is Wally Jr. 2- Back in Action.


	13. Another Dream

GoggleMaster01- Hi, everyone! Hey, this is a earlier update than usual. In that last chapter, Tai caught a mouse- his first live prey.

I know I've been lazy with those OCs, so I'll tell you about them. You can use them with permission. We pretty much know what Bronzepaw and Lionstorm are like- big jerks who hate Halfborns and like to spit on anyone they consider inferior. Remember that now. Moving on. Sesshoku we probably know about by now, too- he'll do anything to get his way- even kill all the Digimon! What does he want? He wants to help Tai's parents- right? He he, more on that later.

Also in this chapter, we meet Terepo, a guy who works for Sesshoku. He simply delivers messages from Apocalymon to the humans, but, when they need him to get something done, he and his Digimon Gaomon make sure it's done! Also, we meet Neko, a man who works for Sesshoku and hates Tai's cat. (his name is a pun- it's Japanese for cat, and Tai's cat Miko irritates him throughout the story.) There's also an unnamed person working for Sesshoku who has multiple personality syndrome- calm and patient one minute, but hopping mad when someone screws up!

Now that everyone's introduced, on to the story. And yes, all my copyrights are in Chapter 1!!!

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Chapter 13

Another Dream

That night, I had another dream. I was back in Highton View Terrace, right outside my house. It was another really vivid dream. I could even see the rust stain on the door where our "Kamiya" nameplate used to be.

Suddenly, two guys carrying a heavy box came by. They went into my apartment. Curiously, I went after them.

My apartment was a hellhole! A lot of our things were missing- our TV, our coffee table, that wind chime that I hated so much. In their place were a jillion computers hooked up in every room in the apartment, in every possible socket in the apartment. Miko and Kari were nowhere to be found, and there were people in black everywhere. There were also a few policemen. My parents were there, and they were talking to Sesshoku. Mom was crying and Dad was yelling at him.

I wished I could help Mom. "Mom, don't cry!" I yelled over the noise of people talking and whirring machines. No one heard me. No one, not even the person closest to me, said, "Hey, it's Tai!" I was nonexistent again.

"You still can't find Tai?" Dad asked.

"They tore up the upper half of the Server Continent," Sesshoku said. "No sign of your boy."

Mom was sobbing out of control. "My little boy- he's-he's gone!!!" she cried. Sesshoku looked at Mom like she was crazy. "Do not cry, we'll find your son," Sesshoku said.

"These computers are getting on my last nerve," Dad said. "I can't go to sleep with their godforsaken lights flashing all the time and all these people here at night."

"Do you want your kid back?" Sesshoku said.

"Yes, Ishida-san, I do. He's a good kid. He'll make a great diplomat."

I sighed. There he goes, with the diplomat crap. "I'm not gonna be a diplomat!" I cried. "I'm gonna be a warrior!" Now that I'd had my first day at Base, I no longer longed for human life- I had to show Bronzepaw and Lionstorm I COULD be a warrior!

But, that didn't mean I didn't miss my family terribly.

The door opened behind me. I turned around to see Kari. She looked stressed out. "Is Gatomon okay?!" Kari asked.

"I can't really say," Sesshoku sneered. "But, she will probably be dead by time Tai returns to you."

Kari gasped in horror. "Kari, choose," Sesshoku said. "Who do you love more? Your brother, or your Digimon?"

Kari looked at her shoes. "My- my brother was always there for me..." she began.

"Kari!" I screamed. I extracted my claws and lunged at the nearest monitor. Maybe, if I shut it down, the Dark Masters would disappear. Kari wouldn't have to choose. But, instead, I went through the machine, though the wall and into my room.

Which was more of a madhouse than the living room!

People had all my stuff in bags. My soccer ball was in one bag, my hidden collection of stuff that Mom cooked for dinner and that I didn't eat in another. People were analyzing all the stuff, looking for my sweat, my blood, my hair, anything to help them find me.

In place of me and Kari's bunk bed, I saw a huge clear tube. It sat on a blue and green stand. A man with blond hair and olive eyes parted from the crowd. He, like the others, was wearing black all over. He tapped a button on the stand. The front of the tube opened up, and the guy walked in. The front of the tube closed up, there was a flash of light, and the guy was gone! Was it some kind of transporter? Weird.

I found Miko- she was in a pet carrier on the highest shelf in my room, probably so she'd stay out of the worker's way. Miko looked down at me from Kitty Prison. Her ears perked with recognition. Could she see me? "Miko?" I whispered. The cat tilted her head. For some reason, she seemed to know I was there. Even though it was just a cat, it was comforting to know someone saw me.

"Miko!" I cried. Miko seemed happy to see anyone from our family. The cat threw herself at the door the pet carrier. The thing fell off the shelf. Miko's olive eyes widened. "MRoOW!!!" she meowed in horror.

"Miko!" I rushed out to get her on all fours. I jumped for the pet carrier- which fell right through me! I listened for the sickening thud. It never came. A guy with black hair caught Miko's pet carrier at the last second. "Bad kitty," he said, putting the pet carrier back on the shelf. "Trying to get out of the cat carrier, meowing for food all night, trying to scratch my face..."

Miko began to hiss at the guy.

Another guy with short brown hair walked up to the first guy. "You okay, Neko?" he asked. I giggled. Neko is Japanese for cat, the very animal that seemed to be causing the guy all kinds of grief. "Yeah, I'm alright," the guy said. "I just can't take that goddamn cat anymore!"

"Well, the sooner we find this kid, the sooner we can all go home," Brown Hair assured Neko.

The tube lit up again, and the guy reappeared. "I have a report from Apocalymon," he said. "Puppetmon seems to have seen a boy with brown hair that looked like something a cat spat up on File Island."

Neko yelled "CAT!!!" and ran away. I chuckled. "Loser," I said.

"Well, looks like we got our kid!" Brown Hair said to Terepo. "Good job, Terepo."

"Not really," Terepo said. "This child had wings. HUGE WINGS! Orange and white wings. And claws! I don't think it's the kid."

I gulped. In this dream, someone saw me while I was out hunting!

"Do you have a picture?" Brown Hair asked.

"No, sir, Apocalymon just told me," Terepo said.

"Then, get back in that Transporter, go to File Island and get one, fool!" Brown Hair yelled, a vein popping on his forehead. "Here's a camera! Go, idiot! Go!"And with that, Brown Hair threw a camera at Terepo and shoved him back into the still-open Transporter. He hit the button on the bottom and Terepo vanished in a flash of light.

I don't really remember what happened after that. My head began to swim. The dream began to blur. And then, eventually, I sank into the warm inky blackness of deep sleep.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- Well, there you go! Chapter 13. Next up, I will introduce the Zudomon Oakfur- a guy who wants to see Tai learn, but is loud and impatient and always correcting him! Let's see how Tai fares next time, on Digimon, Digital Monsters!

O_o O_o

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This is Wally Jr. 2- Back in Action.


	14. Welcome to My Nightmare

GoggleMaster01- I'm back! Two chapters in one day- I'm on FI-YA! Anyway, in the last chapter- Tai has another dream of utter weirdness where he doesn't exist. What do these dreams mean? I dunno!

Oakfur appears in this chapter, and so does Terepo's Gaomon that I mentioned. The other OCs that work for Sesshoku also have Digimon. What are they? I can't tell you- that's too far into the story!

I DON'T OWN DIGIMON, POKEMON OR WARRIORS!!! *mumbles* Stupid copyrighting laws.

* * *

Chapter 14

Welcome to my Nightmare

**T**he next morning, I set out with Agumon and a hunting buddy to go get breakfast. A hunting buddy is an experienced warrior who accompanies apprentices when they go hunt. My first hunting buddy was a Zudomon named Oakfur. Seeing the Zudomon reminded me of Gomamon. That guy was a riot!

Oakfur, however, was not as fun loving as Gomamon. He yelled at me when I did something stupid, but he also showed me how to do it right. He also showed me how to catch fish. We went to a river where many fish were swimming. Bass, trout, you name it, there it was.

"This is the Mihirashi River," Oakfur said. "It is the watering hole of our warriors. Here, have a drink. You must be really thirsty."

I usually got a drink of water whenever I brushed my teeth, which was about an hour ago, but I suddenly felt very thirsty. I got down on my knees, scooped some water into my gloved hands and drank.

"Mmmmm!" The water was, well, the best water ever. It was cleaner than I thought, and sweet and- familiar.

"The water here is carried from the spring at Mihirashi Mountain," Oakfur explained. "That's why it's so good. It also makes it suitable for many fish to live here."

"Mihirashi Mountain?!" I said. THAT'S why it was so familiar! "I went there! There's a village of Yokomon nearby, right?"

"Yes," Oakfur said.

"Wow! This water comes all the way from up there!" I said. Agumon was having a drink of water too.

"We are here for you to learn how to fish," Oakfur said. "Okay!" Is aid. I went off to look for a stick for a suitable fishing rod.

"What are you doing?" Oakfur asked.

"Lookin' for materials for a fishing rod," I said.

"We warriors don't catch fish with a rod!" Oakfur said. "We catch them with our bare hands. Observe."

Oakfur put his huge clawed hands in the water and grabbed a fish. The silvery fish flopped in his grasp. Oakfur pierced the fish with his claws. The thing stopped flopping and oozed guts and blood. Dead fish.

"You try. Release your claws," Oakfur said, putting the fish down. I did so. I was used to retracting and unsheathing my claws by now, and they slid out easily.

"It's all about timing," Oakfur said. "Cup your hands. Agumon, you too. Now, put your hands in the water. Go slow, don't plunge them in there! It's not a free-for-all! Go slow! The sudden movement will scare away the fish. Okay, when you feel a fish go through your hands, grab it quick and pull it up, then pierce it with your claws. It's all about timing. You have to get it at the right moment."

Oakfur drabbled on and on. Normally, I would have given him a piece of my mind, but I bit my tongue. I had to put up with the crap. If I didn't catch a fish, I'd bet you money that Bronzepaw would go on and on about how I'd never be a warrior and his mentor would chime in and that would really ruin my day. So, I kept my mouth shut and waited.

A fish slid by. I grabbed- water. The fish had swam by so fast I couldn't grab it. "Darn!" I pulled my hands out and snapped my fingers in frustration.

"Got one yet?" Oakfur asked.

"Well, I had one." I said. "It got away."

"Are you hunting or telling a fish story?!" Oakfur yelled.

"I'm hunting, duh!" I snapped. I may have been keeping my mouth shut so I could cacth a fish and shove it in Bronzepaw's face, but this guy was getting on my last nerve!

"Then stick your hands in and do it again!" Oakfur boomed.

"Okay, your majesty," I mumbled, sticking them back in.

There was a splash nearby. It was Agumon. He had a fish, but the thing was slippery. Agumon stood there with the fish flopping around in his hands. It looked like he was holding a hot potato. His hand were wide open and the fish splashed around as he tried to hold it. The fish gave a mighty lunge and plopped back into the water.

"Darn it!" Agumon said. "Hey, Tai, do you have anything yet?"

Another slippery fish passed by. I tried to grab it, but it slipped away.

"I can't catch a stupid fish!" I yelled.

"You're a Fire-type Halfborn," Oakfur told me. "Fire-types aren't the best at catching fish, but it's part of the criteria to become a warrior. If you keep at it, you'll get one."

I grumbled to myself. Suddenly, the bushes across the river rustled. I screamed. A man with blond hair and olive eyes popped out. He was dressed entirely in black and holding a camera. At his side was a Digimon, or was it a Pokemon? It looked like a blue puppy with boxing gloves.

It wasn't the presence of a human in DigiWorld that made me scream, nor was it the unknown Digimon and the fact I didn't know its abilities.

It was that this guy was Terepo from my dream!!!

"Ah ha!" Terepo clicked the camera. I shielded my eyes. My wet gloves dipped water in my face, which burned slightly. Why was the water hurting? I assumed that it was because I was a Fire-type. I'd have to ask later.

"I finally found you, Taichi," he said stepping out of the bushes. "Me and my Digimon Gaomon have been looking for you." The dog nodded its head. "I'm working for your parents. They asked me and a few of my colleagues to bring you home."

I remembered the dream. Sesshoku, the computers, the Dark Masters. If Terepo was here, that meant all of it was real!

"I'm not going with you!" I cried, claws revealed and glinting, eyes narrowed. I looked sort of like I was having my picture taken for official art for a video game. "I'm happy here! Go tell my parents I love them and I miss them, but I'm not coming back!"

"You have no choice!" Terepo cried. "Gaomon, attack!"

Gaomon leapt across the river. I thought he was going to fall in, but he landed on the shore. "Double Backhand!" Gaomon began to spin around really fast. He turned into a tornado- and was coming right toward me!

What could I do? I had zero fighting experience! There had to be a way to stop Gaomon!

Oddly, the Digimon went past me- and rammed into Agumon! He knocked Agumon into a tree, knocking him out.

"Agumon!" I yelled.

"Vulcan's Hammer!" Oakfur cried. He lowered his hammer on Gaomon, who spun out of the way. "What? Vulcan's Hammer! Vulcan's Hammer! Vulcan's Hammer!" Oakfur spun round and round, trying to hit Gaomon. He looked like he was playing Whack-a-Mole. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha, you cannot defeat Gaomon!" Terepo cried. "Because even though he is a Rookie level Digimon, he has been enlisted by the Dark Masters. They made this Gaomon so powerful that he can even defeat Ultimate level Digimon with one blow!"

To demonstrate, Gaomon rammed into Oakfur, who fell to the floor, knocked out cold.

"Oakfur!" I cried out.

Gaomon stopped spinning and sneered.

"Do you really think you can beat him?" Terepo cried. "You have no chance!"

"Double Backhand!" Gaomon stared to spin again. I had no Digimon to help me. I had to fight Gaomon on my own.

Springing at Gaomon with my claws outstretched, I tried to scratch him, but Gaomon moved out of the way. He came up from behind and hit me. The wind was knocked out of my lungs as I hit the ground. Gaomon stopped spinning and howled in triumph.

But, even though Oakfur, the strongest out of us three, had been defeated by this very attack, I still had some of my strength. I got back up and staggered towards Gaomon.

"How-how are you still standing?!" Terepo cried. "Gaomon, hit him again!"

"Rolling Upper!" Gaomon jumped into the air. I jumped after him. Mistake! The dog punched me in the nose. I fell on my butt. Gaomon fell in my lap. I wasted no time. Grabbing Gaomon's leg in my mouth, I slammed Gaomon into the nearest tree. The surprised Digimon took the full force of the blow, but got back up. "Double Backhand!" Gaomon started spinning again.

"This attack is really getting old!" I said. I felt weak. Gaomon had only hit me twice, but the dark power had powered him up so much that he knocked the wind out of me with each hit, and it took a lot of power to slam him into the tree. I was done for!

My eyes began to burn. Sparks crackled at my fingertips. Then, they crackled around my wrists. Gaomon slammed me again. I hit the earth and rolled into the water, causing the fish to scatter. I was wet and burning and miserable and bleeding. The water was turning red with blood. I couldn't get my breath. I was going to die! "GULPLE!" I screamed. Everything was turning dark. I was going to go to Team StarClan before I needed to!

This sucked.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- Boo! Yes, a cliffhanger! I've very evil, no? Now you will have to wait until the next chapter, and GOD KNOWS HOW LONG IT'LL BE TILL THEN! MUAH HA HA HA HA HA!

Bye bye! 3

O_o O_o

- / - - / -

: : : :

This is Wally Jr. 2- Back in Action.


	15. Hero of Flame

GoggleMaster01- Well, I've decided I've been evil enough with my cliffhanger, so I'm updating! Yay! :) Well, HeartGold and SoulSilver came out recently. I gave up my DS for Lent like a dummy, and now I gotta wait until Easter until I can get this super-awesome game. It's been HELL, because everyone else I know owns this game! (some people own both versions!) But, you people are here for the fic, not to listen to me whine, so I shall grant your wish- after I repeat AGAIN that Digimon and Pokemon are not mine!

* * *

Chapter 15

Hero of Flame

So, yeah, I was drowning. My eyes were still burning and my wrists still shot sparks. My eyes slid shut. And that would have been the end of me.

Except it wasn't.

Because the craziest thing happened.

Suddenly, I saw these weird numbers fly by my head. The water went from red to black. I was somewhere else, and I could breathe! I saw my name fly by me. Underneath it, several numbers gathered. They numbers turned into some weird garble, then slowly began to form the word "Flamethrower".

"Taichi Kamiya, Hero of Fire," a voice echoed in my ear. "Huhminah?" I asked. I never heard that voice before. "Your Crest of Courage gives you the powers of fire. The name of your attack is displayed here. You may use it to defend yourself from your enemies."

"And- it's called Flamethrower?" I asked.

"Yes," went the voice. "You cannot win your battles with your claws alone, Taichi. You will need to use your fire to protect yourself. To use the attack, call upon it by saying its name. Your enemies will be scorched by a beam of fire that can reduce a large building to ash."

"Woah..." I began. Then, I blinked a couple of times. The voice sounded a little familiar. "K-Kari?" I asked. "Are you Kari?!"

"I cannot tell you my name," the voice said. "Only know I am here to guide and protect you. You may ask me one question."

That was a little unfair. I had a ton of questions for this voice. I was about to ask why only one question, but I slapped myself. If I did that, then I'd get tricked. I bet you that this voice would have taken it as my one question. "Listen up, Voice, I have no clue who you are, but can you answer my questions? You called me the Hero of Fire. Why?"

"The wielder of the Crest of Courage is the Hero of Fire," the voice explained. "He can command flame. All of the DigiDestined can command one of eight elements- Fire, Water, Wind, Ice, Earth, Steel, Mind and Light. You have the power to stop Sesshoku. That's why I entered your dreams and showed you what was happening in the Human World."

My mouth gaped. "Everything I saw really happened, huh..." I said, my voice trailing off. I thought back- my mother's tears, Sesshoku's laugh, Miko in the cage. It was real- all of it. The Digital World was in great danger! And it was up to me to stop it.

"Yes, which is also why, as you may have noticed, you were 'invisible'. You could not change what was happening, but you could see it. It was meant as a warning. You can stop Sesshoku, I know it. If you use your wits, you can defeat Sesshoku." The voice sighed. "But, there is a bigger danger coming. And, a lone DigiDestined is only so powerful. It will take all eight of you to ultimately destroy the evil."

"Meaning, I'll see them again?" I asked.

"ONE QUESTION ONLY!" The soothing voice became loud and booming, blowing my ears out and making them burn.

"Okay, okay, yikes," I said. This voice really meant one question only

"That is all I can tell you," the voice said, now calming again. "Remember, you need only say the word 'Flamethrower' to use it. It will save you. I will return you to where you were. Good luck, Taichi. Good luck."

"Wait- you're sending me back?!" I cried. "In case you didn't know, I was drowning back there! I can't go ba- GULPLE!"

I was back in the blood red water, and again, I could not breathe and was burning. I struggled to the surface, gasping for breath. My wings were soaked. They were heavy, and they pulled me back under.

Man, Voice, what the hell is the point in telling me about Flamethrower if I was going to drown anyway.

Then, I got an idea. Maybe, I could try attacking underwater. "Flraublebalubler!" I said desperately. Nope. Flraublebalubler wasn't gonna cut it.

That's when I saw where the river bottom sloped and connected with the land- a few feet away!

Desperately, I began to swim to the slope. My wings were a pain in the butt. They'd soaked up so much water that it was hard to swim, not like I could really swim to begin with. I forced my head to come above the water and got a quick breath before going back under.

I sunk to the river bottom, which was about a foot deeper than a regular river bottom. I began to walk along the river bottom as fast as I could go, which wasn't fast. I was burning, my lungs groping for air. I tried to swim topside but couldn't. It was over!

Suddenly, the water began to lower. It lowered so much that I could stick my head out. I coughed and spit out some water. What was this? Low tide? I didn't know rivers had high and low tide. But of course, this was DigiWorld. Anything could happen.

With the water now lowered, I crawled on the surface, soaking wet wings dripping water and leaving a trail as I walked on all fours.

Gaomon was still waiting for me. "Double Backhand!" The creep started spinning again. The was no survival if I was hit again. After being hit twice, flinging Gaomon into a tree and nearly drowning twice, I could barely stay standing. And if Gaomon hit me in the direction of the river again...

If he hit me that way again, I might land on the other side where Terepo was, or worse, pass out and then sink to the bottom.

I had to use the Flamethrower attack now, or forever hold my peace- either back in the world I rejected or swimming with the fishes! I had no idea how the Flamethrower attack worked. Well, I had to find out. "Uh...uh...Flame...thrower?" I muttered.

I found out what Flamethrower was. I shot into the air. Fire came out of my hands. My wrists shot embers. The stream of fire hit Gaomon, who was where I had just been standing. There was a howl, a hiss and a farting noise. The fire stopped coursing from my hands.

Uh oh.

I fell from the sky- right on top of Gaomon! "That would have been a nasty fall. Good thing I had this nice cushion!" I said. Gaomon just whined. I looked down. The Digimon was scorched and covered in blood. It looked like he was pretty much beat.

I was amazed. I had made that fire. Me! Never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined doing that! And, I beat Gaomon! Not even Agumon or the experienced warrior Oakfur could do that!

I didn't have time to celebrate, though. I was greatly wounded, soaking wet and starting to pass out. Oakfur stirred, then he staggered to his feet, and so did Agumon. "What- what happened?" Oakfur asked.

"I beat him!" I panted. "I beat Gaomon all by myself!" Then, I spun around to face Terepo. "How do you like that, Fish Face?!" I snapped at him. "You're next!"

Terepo had the biggest sweatdrop I've ever seen in my life. "Uh...MONSTER!!!" He ran away, abandoning his Digimon.

"Yay!" I cried, flashing a piece sign. Then, I fell to the ground.

I won my first real battle. I was proud. I was strong. I was a warrior, the Hero of Fire. I shot a goddang fireball!

I was also unconscious.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- Man, I am EVIL for a protagonist lover! I just flung you another cliffhanger! Now, I'm gonna leave for another month with you wondering if our hero will make it...Just kidding! I posted Chapter 16 too!


	16. Memories of Nothing

GoggleMaster01- Hiya, everyone! In the last chapter, Tai unlocked the power within and defeated Gaomon. But, a lot of questions are raised. What are the powers of the other DigiDestined? Who or what is the mysterious voice watching over Tai? WHAT DID I HAVE IN MY BURRITO?! Most of these questions will be answered at some point in the fic or one of its planned sequels.

In this chapter, I introduce Riverfur. She is a fun character to write. She's happy and cheerful at all times- including when she's forcing medicine down your throat- and she's good at it! She's the head doctor at Base. If you want to use her, don't steal her- give me credit, and keep her in character!

And one last thing- I STILL DON'T OWN DIGIMON! (Gawd, I hate disclaimers!)

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Chapter 16

Memories of Nothing

While unconscious, I had a dream. I was back fighting against Piedmon, standing on a rock across from Piedmon. All my friends were there. Sora, Izzy, Joe, Mimi, T.K., Kari and Matt. I called to them. Over and over. They didn't answer. Maybe they didn't hear. Maybe they had invisible iPods.

"Trump Sword!" Piedmon flung his dreaded Trump Sword. "No!" I jumped in the way of the four swords. But, they went right through me. I fell to the floor and smashed my face. The swords hit my friends, who screamed in pain. I looked up. Blood covered the floor. Izzy was dead, the others mortally wounded.

I couldn't take my eyes off Kari. One sword was stuck in her arm. "Kari, no!" I yelled. "KARI!"

Then, I heard Bronzepaw's voice. "You couldn't save them! You're a loser! You'll never be a warrior!"

Then, Lionstorm's. "Halfborn scum!"

Then, Piedmon's. "At last, I have destroyed the DigiDestined!"

Piedmon laughed, long and loud and evil.

There was nothing I could do. I couldn't save them, but I had to save them. Especially Kari.

I promised I'd protect her.

"KARI!!!" My eyes snapped open and I regained consciousness. I was in a dim room on a soft bed of moss on my back. I had a wet rag on my forehead. The water was burning hot, but it actually felt good. I tried to get up to see where I was, but I was wracked with pain and forced to lie down again.

Suddenly, a bright light filled the room. "YAA! Cut down on the light, will ya?!" I screamed. After the initial irritating shock, I could see the room more clearly. I was in fact on a moss bed, but I could tell that by scent. I sniffed around and was greeted by bitter-smelling herbs and the scents of Psystar, Agumon, Oakfur and some Poke or Digi I didn't know. There was a door across from me that had a clipboard hanging from it. I saw my name in big fat bold letters, but the rest of the writing was too small for me to see.

Hey, reading was never really my hobby anyway!

The door opened and a weird looking thingamo walked in. It was pink. The most sickening shade of pink I could ever imagine. It was shaped like a pink egg, but the bottom half was white. It also had a pink pouch with an egg inside. It had disgustingly curly frills on its head and was pinky and girly and frilly and YUCK! And, it was coming towards me!

I did what every half-drowned, wounded, testosterone-filled Halfborn would do.

And that is- SCREAM LIKE A LITTLE SCHOOLGIRL!

"EEEEEEEEEEEE!" I screamed, just like a little schoolgirl. The creature was by my side. It said to me, "You're awake! Good!"

"I'm...awake?" I mumbled. "You sure you're not some part of a hellish nightmare and you're not gonna eat my flesh?"

"No, I'm not, Taichi," the thing said. I could tell by the voice that this creature was a she. "My name is Riverfur. I'm a Blissey."

"Err, nice to meet ya," I said weakly.

"I can't really say the same for you," Riverfur said. "I hoped I'd never see you in the Chief of Medicine's den, but it had to happen eventually."

"Chief of Medicine's den?" I asked.

"The hospital," Riverfur told me. "Oakfur came back carrying you, and he and Agumon were limping. They said you nearly drowned, and you were covered in so many cuts that I couldn't even imagine what happened to you. Then, I learned about your Flamethrower attack. Not many apprentices can use special attacks this early in their career. Good job!"

"Yea, thanks," I said with a weak grin. "Where's are they? I smell them."

"Agumon and Oakfur? Oh, they were just here, but they left," Riverfur said cheerily. Her constant cheeriness was disgusting. I felt tired. "I-I need to sleep," I said.

"You do that," Riverfur said. "But first, I need to give you a painkiller." She presented me with a glass of water and a pill the size of Tokyo Tower. Okay, the pill was more the size of a walnut, but it seemed like Tokyo Tower.

"I-I'm a big boy," I stammered. "I can handle the pain."

I shouldn't have said that, because Riverfur jumped me. She wrestled me for a bit , caught me in a headlock and forced my mouth open. She forced the pill down my throat, then released me and let me have a sip of water to swallow it down.

"There, all better," Riverfur said cheerily. The good-to-honest truth was I felt worse, but I just said, "Hoo-ray..." Then, I fell on my pillow and went to sleep.

I had strange dreams. Not dreams where I saw what was getting news updates on the Sesshoku story, but instead, I dreamed about what all my friends were doing, individually, and yet all at once.

I saw Matt. He was alone in his room, sitting on his bed, playing his accursed harmonica. He stopped playing and put a hand against the glass of his window. A tear went down his cheek, and I thought he mouthed, "Gabumon..."

Was Matt actually crying? Man, talk about out of character! The guy wiped his tear away and went back to playing the harmonica.

I saw Sora. She wasn't out at soccer practice, but instead was in the flower shop, planting seeds. Her mother came into the room. "Good job, Sora," she said. "That's enough for the day. You can take a break."

"Can I go play soc-" The word wasn't even out of Sora's mouth before her mother said, "Too dangerous. Why don't you find something else to do You have your new friend Mimi from summer camp."

"Yea, I guess..." Sora's voice trailed off and she fell to staring out the window. "But I want to play soccer with my special friend..." she whispered.

Who was Sora's special friend, I wondered. Was it...me?

Then, I saw Joe. He was in summer school, doing at least ten different papers on ten different subjects. He looked down at one paper. "How did that happen?" he asked. "How did this picture of Gomamon get on my essay?" He proceeded to pull his hair out. "Great, now I lost my place in this book! I have a book report due in two weeks! Now I have to start all over!"

"He he," I laughed. "Good old Joe."

I saw Mimi next. She was in her room, talking on the phone with her friend. I took one look at her room and screamed, "AH! FRILLY OVERLOAD!" and shielded my eyes. Suddenly, there was a scream. "Mimi!" went both of Mimi's parents at the same time. "Um, I'll have to call you back..." Mimi hung up and yelled back, "What is it?!"

"Pack up, Mimi! We're moving!"

"Moving?!" Mimi was shocked. So was I. "Where?!"

"To America!!!" went Mimi's dad.

"America?! Why?!" Mimi went.

"Do you want to stick around until the monsters attack again?!" Mimi's mom snapped.

"No...Can I go say goodbye to my friends?!" Mimi asked.

"Yes, Mimi, go!" Mimi's mother yelled.

Mimi opened her window and stuck her head out. "First, I'll say bye to Tai and Palmon," she said. "BYE TAI! BYE PALMON! I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU!!!"

Then, I saw Izzy. He was programming something or other on the computer. "Ten-to-mahn..." he said sadly.

Let us leave Izzy's Zombie Universe. T.K. was playing with Kari and some other little kid I didn't know in the park. The three of them were passing a ball around. Kari was looking up at the sky.

"Hey, Davis, do you believe in guardian angels?" T.K. asked as he threw the ball.

Davis, the third kid I didn't know, caught the ball from T.K. and put it under his arm. "Me? Na. I don't believe in angels or ghost of stuff like that," he snapped.

"I do," Kari said.

That seemed to change Davis's attitude about angels "Oh, then, yea, I do! Love them ghosts and stuff!" he said, throwing the ball at Kari and staring at her, a lovesick look in his eyes.

Who was Davis? What did he want with my sister?! I wanted to jump in and strangle him, but I couldn't move. It was sort of like watching a movie, no, many movies, all at the same time.

"Not ghosts, Davis," Kari said, catching the ball. "I mean guardian angels. Like...my brother is kind of a guardian angel." She threw the ball at T.K., who caught it.

"You mean Tai?" T.K. asked. "Yea. He was pretty cool." T.K. threw the ball at Davis, who didn't see it coming because he was staring at Kari. It hit Davis in the face and he fell over. "OW!" Davis fell on his butt. "Hey, T.B., wait until I'm ready to catch the ball!"

Kari wasn't paying attention to Davis and his big mouth. She was looking up. "Onii-chan, guardian angel, please keep watching me..." Kari whispered.

To me.

I missed them. I had all sorts of happy memories of them. But, what if to them, they were memories of nothing? Had they abandoned me? I wasn't sure if the things I'd seen were real- Mimi moving to America, Sora in the flower shop, T.K. and Kari's new friend. If they wasn't real, then I knew they'd forgotten me.

That's when I saw the memories. Memories of my friends. When I met Sora at a soccer game, the day Kari was born, my first fight with Matt, bothering Joe and Mimi and Sora and Izzy, helping T.K. beat DemiDevimon, Matt saving me from Piedmon, teaming up with Joe to stop Mimi from totally losing it in the Gekomon Castle, battling Matt and saving Sora, going out with Izzy to find medicine for Kari, the smile on T.K.'s face when he escaped Puppetmon and a bunch of other stuff that I did with my friends.

I was feeling a million things at once- anger from fighting with Matt, playful for smacking Izzy's computer and generally annoying everyone, sad when I couldn't save Sora from Datamon, being proud of T.K. and Kari at least a thousand times. And, I felt a mixed set of feelings when I saw our battle against Apocalymon- determination, pride, love, hate, sadness and a billion emotions I never felt before. They were probably emotions only Halfborns could feel, but they were all distinct and new and beautiful.

Finally, I saw something painful. My friends getting on the cable car.

"This is our ride home, Tai! You're blowing our adventure!"- Matt

"We have school. We can't stay here."- Joe

"We have to go, Tai. Goodbye."- Sora

"Take care of Patamon."- T.K. (Patamon and the other Digimon kinda left without me...)

"Goodbye, goodbye..." Their voices began to vanish. "Wait, don't go!" I cried. But, I saw the cable car drive away. Again, I watched until the cable car was nothing more than a spot, a dot, a speck, gone.

You know how you can look at a picture and all the feelings you had when the picture was taken come back to you? Well, all the sadness and the pain returned. Plus, I felt some new Halfborn feeling. It was somewhere between lonely and jealous, with a touch of angry. That's the best way I can put it for you human readers. I think I'll call it derfunklish, and from that moment on, whenever I thought of the cable car, I felt derfunklish.

I was sad and in pain and derfunklish. And worst of all, I was alone in a black void.

"Something tells me..." I heard Kari's voice, whispering in my ear. "...Something tells me...we'll see each other again someday..."

Something in Kari's voice told me- to the others, these weren't memories of nothing. The short scenes I'd seen of my friends were real. They remembered me. And they would never forget.

I felt a tear roll down my cheek. "I'll see you again, Kari," I said. "I'll come back to you. I promise."

"I promise..." My own voice echoed back at me. "I'll come back to you..."

I smiled. My sorrow, pain and derfunklishness went away. "I can't wait...Onii-chan...guardian angel...keep watching me..."

I fell into deep sleep. "I will...I will..."

* * *

GoggleMaster01- I know, I know- THAT WOULD MAKE ONE MEAN FMV SEQUENCE! I mean it! Maybe I'll make one and put it one Youtube or something. Yes, I was kind of inspired by Kingdom Hearts with that end thing there with Ka(i)ri. (Tai began to fall through the air and into the ocean and...) And yes, this chapter is loosely named after the Bleach movie Memories of Nobody. My friend is a huge fan. Anyway, remember to stay tuned and REVIEW!!! I hate silent readers, it makes me think no one's reading, and that makes me sad. :(


	17. Enter the Dark Masters

GoggleMaster01- I'm back, people! Okay, if you like the Dark MAsters, you're gonna LOVE this. This is the first chapter in which the Dark Masters appear. Apocalymon will appear later, so Apocalymon fans will have to wait a little longer.

I'm going to an anime convention this weekend. It's not my first, but this is the first time I'm going in cosplay! *squee!* I'm going as Ash, and I have a plushie of my favorite anime character dressed as Pikachu! (guess which character) Can't wait!

But, enough with my life. Enjoy the fic! (I still don't own Digimon)

* * *

Chapter 17

Enter the Dark Masters

"Once upon a time, there were eight children called the DigiDestined," Piedmon said, holding up a crappy drawing. His drawing skills had clearly not improved since our last sortie. "They thought they destroyed me and went back to the human world. But, one little boy, the Hero of Fire, decided to stay behind-" he held up a crap drawing of me in a dunce cap. "- and he was a fool, for I have not been destroyed. And now, I will make him suffer!" The creep clown threw his four swords at me again-

Oh, wait, where are we? Sorry about that, I lost my place. Let's backtrack a bit.

My name is Taichi Kamiya, but just call me Tai. I'm eleven years old. This is my story.

It all started one day in summer camp when it started to snow. Weird, huh? And a falling snowflake woke me up in the middle of my nap-

No, wait. I think I went way past there. So, since I can't really remember where the hell I was, I'll skip to when I had been out of the Chief of Medicine's den for about a week. I was busy cleaning out the elder's den-

Man, you must have no clue what I'm talking about. Let's backtrack a few minutes.

"TAICHI KAMIYA! How dare you leave Base territory and go on someone else's?!"

"Um, sorry, Redtail..." I stammered as Agumon covered his face.

The deputy was hopping mad at me and Agumon. Long story short, every day since I'd been let out of the Pokemon Center, me and Agumon went back to the place where the cable car used to be, and I checked to see if it had returned with my friends. One day, a couple of Seadramon saw me, and they attacked me. They gave me a wedgie, no joke. I screamed, and Redtail came running up. He blasted the Seadramon away, but he was pissed off at me, and brought me back to Base for a punishment.

"Sorry?! That was the territory of the Opticus of Cape Barra! That is the home of many water-based Virus Digimon that will surely kill you! If you keep fooling around over there, we will eventually be at war with the Opticus!" Redtail screamed on and on. "I'LL BLAST YOU BOTH! I'LL BLAST YOU...zzzzzz."

Psystar did his little trick that he did to put Redtail to sleep. "That takes care of him," he said. "Now, Taichi, Agumon, there is the matter of your punishment. Go to the elder's den and change their bedding. Here is some fresh moss. Collect the old moss, give them new moss, and then go discard the old moss outside."

I'd been around long enough to know that the elder's were the old Pokes and Digis who couldn't fight anymore. Their den was to the left of Psystar's. Cleaning their bedding was a punishment for naughty apprentices. I saw Bronzepaw go back there several times, but it had never happened to me or Agumon until now, and I didn't know why it was so bad.

I found out. As I bowed in respect to greet the elders, the reek of urine filled my sensitive nose. Apparently, the elders were so old, they were constantly going to the bathroom. So now, me and Agumon had to clean out row after row of moss and number one and number two, then ration the fresh moss to each elder. That's fun, huh?

But, the only reason I bring up this nasty punishment is because of what happened when me and Agumon dumped all the old moss. It was twilight in DigiWorld, and the forest was lit with the last rays of the sun and the first rays of the moon at the same time. Everything was a creepy shade of grey.

"Man, it's like cleaning Miko's litter box a thousand times," I said to Agumon.

"I know it stinks, Tai, but we have to do it," Agumon told me.

"Where did Psystar say to put the moss?" I asked.

"He said to dump it over that cliff that we fell off of when we fought Kuwagamon," Agumon replied. "He called it Freefall Cliff."

"Appropriate name," I said to myself as we headed in that direction.

We got to Freefall Cliff and tossed the filthy moss off the edge. I watched the ball of stink fall into the pit. Then, I saw something come OUT of the pit.

It was a face I thought I'd never see again. A clown with a black and white face, pointy ears and long, wild orange hair, in which was entangled the remains of Stinkville.

"Agumon..." I stammered. Agumon looked into the pit. "It's...Piedmon?" Agumon asked. "I thought we killed him!"

"Nope, Agumon. Remember the guy with the Gaomon the other day? Well-"

I spit out the whole story as fast as I could. Agumon had one eye glued to me and the other to the pit. The bodies of Machinedramon, MetalSeadramon and Puppetmon were starting to form.

"So, I guess they're living in that pit, and we just threw a stinkball at them and-" I didn't have the time to finish because Piedmon had pulled himself out of the pit. I saw that he now had a red mark that looked like three triangles pointing to a triangle in a circle on his forehead. His companions followed him, each bearing the same mark.

"Well, well, well, it's been a while," Piedmon said.

"Yea, a long while..." I mumbled. (It had only been about a week, actually.)

"Trump Sword!" Piedmon threw his swords at me, and I dodged them just in time. I was amazed. I'd never been fast enough to dodge a Mega Digimon's attack before. Even my strength and speed had been upped when I became a Halfborn!

"What do you want now, Piedmon?!" Agumon yelled.

"I'll tell you what I want," Piedmon said. And this brings us back the beginning of the chapter.

"Once upon a time, there were eight children called the DigiDestined," Piedmon said, holding up a crappy drawing. His drawing skills had clearly not improved since our last sortie. "They thought they destroyed me and went back to the human world. But, one little boy, the Hero of Fire, decided to stay behind-" he held up a crap drawing of me in a dunce cap. "- and he was a fool, for I have not been destroyed. And now, I will make him suffer!" The creep clown threw his four swords at me again, but this time, Agumon spat out a fireball- "Pepper Breath!"- and burned them to a crisp.

Piedmon spun around to face Agumon. "Agumon, digivolve!" I yelled. "Digivolve to WarGreymon and teach them a lesson!"

Agumon nodded at me, then turned back to the pissed-off Piedmon.

"Agumon digivolve to...Agumon?" Nothing happened.

"Um, Tai, something's wrong," Agumon said. "I can't digivolve to WarGreymon."

That was pretty weird. "Then try digivolving to MetalGre- KYAH!!!" Puppetmon came up from behind and pounded me with his Puppet Pummel. Agumon tried to digivolve to the cyborg Digimon.

"Agumon digivolve to...Metal...Agumon?" Still nothing.

"I dunno, may be just Greymon," Agumon said. Machinedramon and MetalSeadramon were closing in. Agumon had to do something.

"Agumon digivolve to...Agumon again?" Still nada.

"That's weird, Agumon, why can't you digi-KYAH!!!" MetalSeadramon flung me up into the air. "Hey, Machinedramon, catch!" he said, tossing me at Machinedramon.

"No, you catch," Machinedramon flung me back at MetalSeadramon.

They were playing catch- with me as the ball! I had to get out of here. Puppetmon was attacking Agumon. There had to be a way out.

I got it.

"Hey, Puppetmon!" I yelled. "I hear a voice in the pit! It's a Gekomon and he wants to play with you!"

"Really?" Puppetmon stopped attacking. "I don't hear anything."

"We Halfborns have really good hearing," I said.

"I'll go check it out," Puppetmon said. "But you better be here when I get back." The Mega Digimon jumped in yelling, "Oh Gekomon! Who's ready to play Hide Seek and Destroy?"

"He, he's so gullible," I said to myself, still being thrown by MetalSeadramon and Machinedramon.

"Hey, he's leaving without us!" MetalSeadramon jumped in after Puppetmon.

"Hey, where are you going, fool?" Machinedramon followed MetalSeadramon. Machinedramon, who had me at the moment, dropped me, and I hit my butt.

Piedmon quickly noticed he was alone. He turned to me and said, "I will retreat for now, Hero of Courage, but mark my words. When I return, I will get you. And when I do, you'll be begging to return home to your parents." He then turned to go back into the pit. "A shame that by time they find you, you will be dead." With that, he jumped in the pit.

"I'll...be dead?!" I asked. I was confused. According to my wacky dreams, Piedmon was supposed to be bringing me to my parents. Why would he want to kill me? And, wasn't it dangerous for Piedmon and his friends to be so close to Base?!

"C'mon, Agumon, we have to warn everybody!" I yelled. Me and Agumon ran back to Base. My legs hurt with each step and I fought for breath, but I ran anyway.

In the week or so that I'd been there, I had an obligation to protect Base and warn Psystar of any danger. I also had to protect Base for another reason- to prove myself to Bumpaw and Lionsnot and all the other Pokemon and Digimon in Base. I had to prove to myself and Base that I was a warrior. To do that, I had to protect my new home until my final breath.

I returned to Base and told Psystar what I saw at Freefall Cliff. The word "Piedmon" was only halfway out of my mouth when Psystar told me that he was going to send six experienced warriors down there to see what was going on. (Thankfully, one of them was Lionsnot, so I wouldn't have to deal with him for a bit) He then held a meeting just like when I first came. He told everyone the whole story and ordered a pit to be dug outside for waste. Until the six warriors returned, Freefall Cliff was off-limits.

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GoggleMaster01- There you go! Chapter 17 is completed. I put spoilers for Chapters 18-19 on my user page, so if you don't want spoilers for the next chapter, PLEASE DON'T GO THERE! Please R&R folks!


	18. Dreams of Flight

GoggleMaster01- I'm back quick, no? Guess what? I had a bunch of chapters sitting around rotting on my computer. I was just so unbelievably lazy and life threw me so much crap that I never got around to posting them. So, this and Chapter 19 will be posted today! Yay! Joy!

Digimon is still not mine, and enjoy the fic! Oh, by the way, there has been a spoiler alert for this chapter and the next one on my user profile. It's been taken down and replaced.

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Chapter 18

Dreams of Flight

Life at Base became very routine after that. In the morning, I got a fireball in the butt from Agumon, which didn't hurt me but did wake me up. After brushing my teeth and fixing my hair, I went outside for a drink of water at Mihirashi River, which had cleared up since my battle with Gaomon. Then, I went to hunt for my breakfast. Back at Base, I ate my breakfast while Psystar gave the morning announcements to everyone in Base. After that, I met Psystar at his den, and I went out with him for warrior training. I was allowed to break for lunch, then training continued until dinner. Then, Psystar gave an evening announcement, I went for a quick soak in the tub and then went to bed.

I'd been at Base for about a moon. During that time, I'd stopped walking upright, finding myself more comfortable on all fours. At first, I was a little wobbly on my feet, but then I got used to it. Just like everything else.

Also during that time, some of the warriors who had thrown food at me on my first day decided to cut the crap and stopped teasing me. Some of them even waved at me when I walked by, but I couldn't really call them friends.

Bronzepaw, however was as relentless as ever. His replacement mentor was Oakfur, who was always yelling at him whenever we got in a fight. Bronzepaw reminded me of Matt- we were always fighting and I had to constantly prove to him that I knew what the hell I was doing, thank you very much. Unlike Matt, who was actually a nice guy once you got to know him, Bumpaw was still as much of a bum as he was the day I met him, and I was constantly proving to him I was better.

The leaves on the trees, which were supposed to be tropical, turned red and gold and began to fall. The season of greenleaf, or summer, was ending, and leaf-fall, or autumn, was in full swing. Animals were starting to burrow for hibernation and crap like that, so everyone was in hunting overdrive, hunting for more food than we really needed so we could store it away for leaf-bare, or winter, which was harsh and preyless.

Psystar said that, if I was a Pokemon or Digimon, I'd be in the adolescent stage. I asked him what that had to do with anything.

"In the adolescent stage, Halfborns learn to fly," Psystar told me. "You're almost ready."

I flapped my wings in excitement. My wings had simply been for show until now. Soon, I'd be able to fly with them! And, guess what? Last I checked, Salamon do not have wings, so if I learned to fly, I'd skyrocket in front of Bumpaw!

"Ever since you grew them, Taichi, your wings have been changing," Psystar said. "When you first got them, the wings were covered with short, fluffy feathers. Your flight feathers are almost grown in, so now you have longer, sleeker feathers. In about a week, they'll be fully grown in, and you will receive flight lessons."

I was really excited. I couldn't wait until next week!

For the next seven days, I watched as the birds flew south for the winter. I watched as the small band of geese the lived on the other side of Mihirashi River that we hunted for celebrations took off, flapping their big graceful wings. I tried to jump after one of the geese, but it flew away, which meant no goose for me. I watched the bird fly away, and I wanted to fly after it.

I kept having the same dream each night. It was dream where I was flying high over File Island through clouds of marshmallows. Then, this fireball came out of nowhere, and I woke up to Agumon's morning roasting.

Every day, all I could think about was flying. Needless to say, this distracted me from my duties. I think I had to clean out the elder's den at least three times. And at least once, I forgot about the pit and started heading in the direction of Freefall Cliff. Then, I remembered who was there, and I shuddered.

At long last, the big day came. I raced to Psystar's den like a maniac. I was so excited I didn't even bother to wake up Agumon. It was about four in the morning, though, so Psystar sent me back to the apprentice's den.

I couldn't go back to sleep. At some point, the other apprentices began to stir. They left the apprentice's den. I was pretty sure it was morning, I turned to Agumon. He was still asleep.

"Flamethrower!" I shot a stream of flame at Agumon. I'd gotten better and better at using it. I used it to cook my meals each day, and to make my bathwater extra hot. While using Flamethrower in my day-to-day life, I learned how to keep grounded instead of catapulting into space.

So, I was able to stay on the ground when I hit Agumon, who woke up with a start. "What was that for, Tai?" he asked.

"C'mon, sleepyhead! Today's the big day! I'm gonna get my flying lessons!" I was bouncing off the walls.

"Woah, calm down, Tai," Agumon said. "You still need to hunt for breakfast."

"Oh. He ha. I forgot about that," I said with a grin.

So, after doing my morning routine and quickly catching some vole that was too fat to move, I raced back to Base and downed three mice as fast as I could. Then, I ran like Speedy Gonzales to Psystar's den and waited there during the morning announcements.

I hadn't been this excited since my first soccer tryout. I had to be about seven. On the ride there, I kept asking my mom "Are we there yet?" every thirty seconds. Once there, I was shaking so much I could barely kick the ball. But, by some miracle, I got on the team.

Of course, that was the team of behemoth ten and eleven year olds that could use me as the ball, but that's a story for another time.

Psystar came up to his den flanked by Redtail. "SENSEI!!!" I bounced on him. "My flying lessons are today, right?"

"Did this little troublemaker miss the morning announcements?!" Redtail bellowed. "They were important!"

"Um, we found the chocolate on Infinity Mountain?" I guessed. I had no idea. I'd been so excited about flying!

"NO!!!" Redtail began to shoot fire, but Psystar put his spoon on Redtail's shell, and the deputy fell asleep.

"Redtail, Redtail, Redtail," Psystar said to him. "You are a good warrior, but you have a tendency to overreact." He turned to me. "You've never been tardy to the morning announcements before, Taichi, so I'll let you slide this once. But, if it happens again, you will be given another warning, and if it happens once more, you will be punished."

"Yes, Sensei," I bowed my head in shame.

"Now, just this one time, I will tell you the morning announcement," Psystar said. "Out of the warriors we sent to Freefall Cliff, only Lionstorm returned. The rest of the team has been destroyed by the Dark Masters. That is partially my fault. I did not send a Chief of Medicine with them. They were our six strongest warriors. This means the Dark Masters are stronger than ever. We must be very careful outside."

I gasped. They were experienced warriors! But, a bigger question- why did only Lionstorm return alive?

"We will mourn the others tonight," Psystar said. "In the meantime, we will give you your flying lessons. Come, Taichi, Agumon."

We followed Psystar outside. A Birdramon was waiting for us.

"As you mentor, I would normally be teaching you," Psystar said. "However, in this case, I cannot teach you, for I cannot fly. For that reason, Deadfoot-" he gestured to the Birdramon "-will teach you to fly. I will be tending to the affairs of the dead and planning a new course of action. I will return for you later."

Psystar went back into Base, and so me and Agumon were alone with Deadfoot.

"Welcome, Taichi, Agumon," Deadfoot said. "Now, before we begin, I must ask that Agumon climb on my back. He is flightless, but he is Taichi's Digimon partner, so he must remain with us."

Agumon hopped on Deadfoot's back. He could have easily grabbed the Digimon's foot, but Agumon wasn't the best at grabbing things, so I guess that's why he had to hop on Deadfoot's back.

Deadfoot then turned his attention to me. My wings started to twitch. They wanted to start flapping.

"Okay, bucko, now we can start," Deadfoot said. "First, you have to get off the ground. To do that, you need to spread your wings nice and wide, then, start running. For me, I'd have to run about 50 feet, but for you, I'd say about 10 feet will do it because you're smaller. When you think you're there, start beating your wings and jump up in the air. I'll be waiting for you up there, bucko."

Deadfoot took off like a shot into the forest with Agumon on board. I could barely contain my excitement. This was it. I was about to fly.

I gave my wings a test flap. Then, I spread them and started running. One foot, two feet, three feet. I didn't really know when I'd reach ten feet, but it would be soon. I just guessed it would be at a really large and strange tree I passed while hunting- a palm tree with blue oak leaves.

I was halfway there, and my excitement was building. I felt a strange rush that I'd never felt as a human. It was what a bird feels when they fly from the nest- a mixture of freedom, excitement, fear, and some inhuman emotion I can't describe.

Seven feet, eight feet. Almost there.

Nine feet. I began to flap my wings.

TEN! PARTY TIME! I jumped into the air, flapping my wings like mad. My feet and hands lifted off the ground. A rush went through my wings as they flapped. I looked down. The ground was far behind me.

I was flying

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GoggleMaster01- And now, we leave Tai. You can stop here, or read Chapter 19. I don't really care. Again, please review. Silent readers drive me mental! That's why I don't post Wally Jr. no more!


	19. The Voice of the Sky

GoggleMaster01- Okay, here's Chapter 19, as promised. Chapter 20 will be posted soon. I have the rough draft of Chapters 20-22 lying around, so I WILL WRITE THEM!

Oh, Digimon is still not mine. If it was, I'd have fired the idiots who thought up the Digimon 02 ending. Better yet, it wouldn't exist! Let's continue with Tai's adventure!

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Chapter 19

The Voice of the Sky

I was so busy looking down at the ground, amazed that I was no longer on it, that I didn't see Deadfoot. I bumped right into him!

"Woah, woah woah," Deadfoot said. "Don't look at the ground. You're not on the ground. It doesn't matter right now. You need to be aware of where you are. The sky is a dangerous place."

But, the trouble was, I wasn't aware of where I was. I was finally using the big stupid wings I'd had from Day One. It's like being a two year old and getting a toy that says "Ages 4 and Up" and then finally turning four. My eyes widened into two big excited pools of brown.

"YO!" Deadfoot grabbed my head in his claw and shoved it in his face. "Pay attention, bucko! You're in the air, and it may seem like all that and a barrel of fresh-kill, but guess what? It's dangerous! What if you don't know how to ride the winds and a strong wind comes along? You'll get blown away like a Tanemon in a hurricane and, you'll land in a tree and won't be found till moonhigh! Or, worse, you'll land in enemy territory! I don't think the Opticus of Cape Barra over there would mind having you for dinner!"

"They want to invite me to dinner? Aw, they shouldn't have!" I asked. I knew what Deadfoot meant, but I just wanted to pull his strings.

Deadfoot groaned and released my head. "Okay, bucko, lesson number one. Fly slowly. Slow, flowing flaps go a long way. If you beat them really fast, like you are doing now-" I then noticed my wings were going at a rate of a zillion wing beats per second "-then, if a thermal or wind comes along, you will be unable to, if not have a hard time, riding it. So, slow down, bucko."

"How?" I asked.

"The movement will come naturally to you if you just relax," Deadfoot said.

"How can I relax? I've never been more excited!" I said.

"Try thinking of things that relax you and slow down a bit," Deadfoot said. "You'll feel it when you get it."

I closed my eyes. What relaxed me? I couldn't really think of anything until a warm air curled up under me. It reminded me of the warm bath that I curled up into at the end of the day. My wings slowed down, and I felt them beat less times.

"Ah, much better," I said. The warm air blew again under me again. "Um, what's this warm air that keeps blowing under me?" I asked. I sniffed the air. "I don't think it's one of my far-"

"You aren't farting, bucko," Deadfoot said with a sigh. "That, my friend, is a thermal. Go down a little and you'll be in the path of the thermal. You can easily ride over that thermal. Just spread your wings and glide- like that Airdramon over there."

I turned around. A Digimon that looked like a giant dragon was soaring towards us on the thermal. When he got close enough, I could see he had a rider.

Brown Hair!

I nearly panicked. My heart and wings thumped really fast. When Brown Hair was close enough to me to get a good look, he waved.

"Hello, Taichi," he said. "I am Kakae. Your parents are very worried about you. It's about time we bring you home." Airdramon roared. I now noticed each wing bore the same mark the Dark Masters had.

Then, I thought about his name. Kakae. It sounded sorta like it was...

"Ha ha ha!" I laughed. "Your name is Cocky!"

Kakae got mad at me. "Do not laugh at me, fool boy," he growled in a deep voice. "I have come to save you! Do you want to die out here?! Your parents are worried sick, we're looking day and night for you, I finally find you, and you laugh at me and say my name is Cocky!"

"Well, it is!" I laughed. "Sorry, Cocky, but I'm staying here. You and your Digimon can go back home. Tell my parents I'm okay, but I ain't goin' nowhere, bub!"

Cocky looked mad. "Well, if you won't go on your own, I'll force you to," he said. "Airdramon! Attack!"

The Digimon came flying at me. I gulped. This guy had been flying all his life. I had zero flying experience. Who do you think was going to win this battle?

"Meteor Wing!" Luckily, Deadfoot swooped in, Agumon clinging to his back. Airdramon went flying, then rebounded back.

"Spinning Needle!" Airdramon flapped his wings and created a blade of air. It hit Deadfoot smack in the jaw, and he started to fall.

With Agumon still on him.

"Agumon!" I raced after Deadfoot and scooped up Agumon. But, with me and Agumon's combined weight, I started spinning out of control. What could I do? I was about fifty feet in the air. I was going to smack on the ground and turn into a pancake if I didn't do something!

"Um Sensei, it would be so kind of you if you'd teach me how to land now?!" I asked in a panicked voice.

"Well, normally, you'd just soar down and land on all fours," Deadfoot said. "But you have Agumon, buddy! Your spine is already configured to being on all fours. If you try and land on your hind legs, that's gonna hurt like hell."

"So what do I do?!" I yelled.

"A bush! Try landing on a bush! Or a tree! Anything to break your fall!" Deadfoot finally fell into a tall tree with striped leaves. I kept falling. Alone. With Airdramon on my butt.

I heard Deadfoot calling. "Bucko! The sky speaks to Halfborns. It speaks through thermals and winds, and the Halfborn speaks back by riding them! The sky will tell you what to do! Listen to its voice!"

I was thirty feet from the ground. I had to do it. "Okay, sky, what do I do?" I spread my wings and felt a soft thermal curl up under them. I began to fly up, following the thermal. I was speaking to the thermal. I still had no clue how to land, and I still had Airdramon to deal with, but at least this was a start.

"What do I do, thermal?" I asked with my wingflaps. This was easier than I thought. My instincts were kicking in. I followed the thermal's current, left, right, left, behind Airdramon. I jumped on Airdramon and extracted my claws.

Time to teach Cocky and Airdramon some manners!

"Flamethrower! Ha!" I'd recently picked up a verbal "Ha!" tic similar to Agumon's whenever I attacked. Flames shot out of my hands and hit Airdramon's wing. The Digimon flapped uselessly. He couldn't really attack with me up there!

But, Cocky had an idea. "Airdramon!" he commanded. "Pick the boy up off your back!"

Oh, crap.

Airdramon picked me up by the wing like he was a pair of chopsticks and I was a nice, juicy dumpling. I helplessly dangled from the giant lizard's mouth.

I would have been brought right back to the Human World right then and there. I would have been forced to go to school and become a diplomat and surrender my adventurous life.

That is, if Agumon wasn't grabbing on to Airdramon's tail.

"Agumon! Help me!" I yelled. And, boy, did he help. "Pepper Breath! Ha!" Agumon shot a fireball at Cocky. The guy squealed like a little girl. Airdramon turned around- and saw Cocky with his pants on fire!

Airdramon's mouth gaped- just enough for me to fall out. I fell and grabbed on to Airdramon's neck. Then, I climbed up to his snout and sliced the bridge of his nose. Airdramon was louder than Mimi as he howled in pain.

"You like that, Lizard Breath?!" I cried. I couldn't think of what to do next for a second, then I charged up Airdramon's snout and went between his eyes. He shook his head to throw me off, but I dug in my claws and held on like a tick.

Once I was there, Airdramon could forget it. He had no arms or legs, and he would fall if he used his wings to try and bat me off. And, his flimsy little tail could have been annoying, but it had Agumon on it. Plus, I was in his blind spot, so Airdramon couldn't see where I was- but he could feel me. Roaring, he threw his head around to get rid of me, but I didn't let go.

I had to just hold on until Deadfoot recuperated or I got a better idea. Good luck to me.

There was a flaw in my plan. Cocky had climbed up Airdramon's neck and he was right next to me. He had a knife, which he lowered to my right index claw. "Enough kiddie games," he snarled. "The Digital World isn't some playground! If you're not coming willingly, I'm going to declaw you and take you by force!"

What could I do? What should I do? Cocky was sawing my claw off close to the quick, and I was screaming in pain. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," Cocky tried to reassure me.

"Well, that hurts like hell!" I cried, pulling my left hand out of Airdramon and slashing Cocky's face. The guy dropped the knife, and it fell off Airdramon to the forest floor. My claw had a small bleeding cut that looked like it would heal quickly. Cocky, on the other hand, had deep scratch marks that mutilated his face, disfiguring him in a way only plastic surgery could fix.

"You little brat! I'll rip those claws out myself!" Cocky tried to grab me, but, with nothing else to do, I unlatched myself from Airdramon and ran. I spread my wings and prepared for flight.

Agumon was still grabbing on to Airdramon's tail. I grabbed him as I ran. "Why can't I digivolve, Tai?" he asked. "The whole time I was trying to become MetalGreymon or even just Greymon, but I still couldn't do it."

I remembered the bizarre incident at Freefall Cliff. "I'm sure Psystar will know what's going on," I said. "But right now, we gotta get off this jerk. Hang on!"

I leapt off of Airdramon before I ran out of tail to run down. I hopped into the air and flapped like mad. Again, I spiraled out of control with Agumon's weight. I felt a thermal curl up under my wings, and I could tell it was the thermal from before immediately.

"What do I do now?" I asked. I followed the warm wind, letting my wings do all the work. I steadied a little bit. "How do I get down?" I flapped. Once me and Agumon were on the ground, the rest was easy-

"Spinning Needle!" Damn! Airdramon was free to attack! He hit me, and I dropped like a rock tossed by Galileo. Airdramon gave a terrible "Haw haw haw!" and rushed after me.

I don't know what would have happened if not for what happened next. Airdramon might have caught me and handed me to Cocky, who would have sent me home to a boring city life I'd already rejected. Or Airdramon might have eaten me and Agumon for lunch. Or I might have even went "SPLAT" and hit the ground, turning me and Agumon into pancakes. But none of that happened, because Deadfoot had recuperated at some point, and he'd jumped back up into the air. I fell right on his back.

"Meteor Wing!" Deadfoot attacked Airdramon with a mega-sized fireball. I was reminded of Sora when I saw it, and I began to miss her terribly.

Airdramon and Cocky, on the other hand, were screaming like little girls when they saw the huge fireball hurtling at them. "Run away! Run away!!!" Cocky howled. He and Airdramon tried to retreat, but the Meteor Wing was too fast. The fireball slammed into them, and Airdramon, Cocky and all, went flying over the trees and slammed into Infinity Mountain.

"Woo hoo! Two points!" I said. I put Agumon down and he did a happy dance too. Then, I fell over, not because I was seriously hurt, but because I was pooped.

"Good job, bucko," said Deadfoot. "Even with that Champion level Digimon on our tail, you followed your instincts and flew well. You keep doin' that, you'll be a great flyer."

I flapped my sore wings to thank the sky, and my thermal ruffled my wings in response.

"Next time," I said, my exhausted voice barely a whisper, "Please teach me how to land, Sensei." Deadfoot nodded.

There was only one thing left to take care of. "Goodbye," I flapped to my thermal. The thermal blew "Goodbye" back, and then, it stopped blowing.

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GoggleMaster01- Okay, the spoiler warning on my user page, as I said, is null and void. My Digi-Future ball was right, but the next spoilers will come from my craptastic rough drafts, so they might not happen.

PLEASE REVIEW! I can't stress this enough! A friend told me if you put romance in a fanfic, it get five times more reviews. Well, I HAVE plans for an adventure fic like this with Taiora, but I need to finish this one first, and you'll be lost in the Taiora one unless you read this one!!!


	20. The Truth About Bronzepaw

GoggleMaster01- Well, my computer cabinet broke, so now I'm stuck using a table that's so short you have to be one of Snow White's dwarves to use it. Sadly, my name isn't Happy or Grumpy or Dopey or Doc, so it hurts to type. Also, the table is small, so I can't fit my idea binder on here. UGH!!! It sucks! So, I'm just going to post the chapters rotting on my computer. Chapter 21 is up too. Read and enjoy! Digimon and Pokemon and Warriors still are not mine.

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Chapter 20

The Truth About Bronzepaw

Once I was safely back home, I wrapped my claw up in a towel to stop the bleeding. Then, I went to the fresh kill pile and downed a rabbit and three mice. I didn't bother cooking them- I was so hungry! With my belly full, my energy returned, and I ran at top speed to Psystar's den, nearly taking off into flight a few times.

I wanted to know what the hell was going on with Agumon- why was he not digivolving?! When it happened with the Dark Masters, I thought he was just rusty, but now that it happened again, I knew something was up.

"Psystar! I'm back!" I called into his den. Psystar turned around and saw me. Then, he patted me on the head. "Did you like it up there, Taichi?" he asked.

"Yea! Yea!" I jumped around like Miko that one time I was stupid enough to give her catnip. I babbled to Psystar everything that happened, ending with, "Why is Agumon not digivolving?"

"Agumon doesn't need to digivolve because you can protect yourself now," Psystar explained. "You're growing up. It's not fair for Agumon to be digivolving every time you need help. You have wings to fly away with and your Flamethrower attack now. You must protect yourself, Agumon and Base, not cower behind WarGreymon."

That made sense. I wasn't a little kid any more.

That night, we mourned the dead warriors. We all gathered outside so we could be closer to the stars, as was the tradition. We lit small lanterns made from the leaves of some DigiWorld tree I can't pronounce. There were five of them- one for each of the deceased.

Everyone seemed so sad. Riverfur weeped so loudly, I bet the folks back home could hear her bellowing cries. I wanted to throw a brick at her and shut her up, but couldn't. Mainly because there was no brick to throw.

Psystar was saying something about the deceased. I didn't pay attention. I was looking at the stars. Five new stars were twinkling brightly, watching their funeral down on earth.

I remembered my first night in DigiWorld. I remembered not recognizing any of the stars. The first night out there with my friends would eventually be the last place I saw them. Life can be funny like that.

I'd never been to a real, bona fide funeral before. The last funeral I'd been to was for a dead squirrel me and Kari found in the park in the summer of 1997. We put it in a cardboard box, buried it and moved on. We didn't give a speech beyond the words "Goodbye, squirrel". We didn't have to "brush our hair and neaten up for the occasion or else", as Redtail put it. And the only one crying back then was Kari. I barely knew the deceased, so I couldn't really cry for them.

"You monster," came a low growl. I spun around. It was Bronzepaw. He looked smaller than usual, lying on the floor with his paws out in front of him. But, his eyes burned with their usual hatred for me.

"Hit the road, Bumpaw," I said.

"I just thought you should know the Dark Masters YOU found killed the leader of the pack," Bronzepaw said, still in a low growl. "If you didn't find them, the MagnaAngemon Blazeheart would still be with us."

"I care why?" I asked Bronzepaw.

The Salamon growled very loudly in a half hiss "He was my father!"

My head started reeling. Bumpaw's father was not only dead, he was the leader of the pack. His last thoughts must have been on how he led his comrades to their destruction. That's hard to die on, and I know because I've nearly had it happen to me a few times.

"He's still be here if it weren't for you finding the Dark Masters," Bronzepaw went on. "It's your fault he's dead."

For once, I felt bad for Bronzepaw. "I'm sorry-" I began.

Bronzepaw shouted, "THE HALFBORN KILLED MY FATHER!" Everyone turned around to face us. Bronzepaw's scream echoed in my ears. I covered them, trying to make it stop.

Bronzepaw leapt on me and pushed me to the floor, his eyes filled with tears and hatred. He slashed me with his claws. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" he screamed, sobbing a bit as he said the third "I'll kill you".

Psystar walked over and broke it up by freezing Bronzepaw in place. "Bronzepaw, I know you have lost someone dear to you, but Taichi is not responsible-"

"Yes h-he is!" Bronzepaw sobbed. "If he d-didn't f-f-find the Dark Masters, my father would s-still be here!"

That made sense. I closed my eyes. "I'm a monster," I said to myself. "A complete monster. I made all those warriors die. I-"

Psystar heard me. "You did not cause this, Taichi," he said. "It's not your fault."

It was very much my fault. I ran back into Base, even with everyone screaming at me to come back. I ran to bed, without even hopping in the bathtub for a soak like I usually did. And I cried myself to sleep where no one could see me.

I failed. I'd failed Base and Psystar and Bumpaw and everyone. Bronzepaw didn't know the Dark Master's reason for being here was me, too, and I wasn't going to tell him that. I was a danger to everyone. I would have run away, but I was too tired to move.

I'll always be thankful for that, because that night, I had a dream that made me stay in Base where I belonged. I was falling through a black void, spinning out of control. I heard voices as I fell.

"THE HALFBORN KILLED MY FATHER!"- That was Bronzepaw.

"You'll be begging to go home. A shame you'll be dead."- Then Piedmon, from earlier.

"I can bring back your son, but it could result in the destruction of the Digital World."- Then Sesshoku, from even earlier than that, on my first night here.

I finally hit the floor. I stood up, finding myself in a cave with an old fashioned gallows. Hanging from the gallows was the dead body of Blazeheart, Bronzepaw's father. At the foot of the gallows were the lumped, unrecognizable bodies of the other four.

"It's only a dream, it's only a dream," I told myself. It was my fault they were dead. It was my fault...

I felt someone slip a noose around my neck. I spun around. Sure enough, I was under another gallows- with Piedmon at the controls.

"Wake up, stupid Halfborn!" I pinched myself to no avail. My heart pumped faster and faster. I was going to die. Right here, right now.

People always say when you're about to die, your life flashes before your eyes. Well, it's true. I saw everything, from the day I was born, to Kari's birth, to when I first set out on this adventure, to that night. But, I saw also myself in Piximon's cave, meeting up with my seven year old self. The memories of the experience came back to me, and so did the message.

"No matter what, if I fail, I can get up again, right?" I asked. That's when the noose around my neck tightened. I struggled for breath, and then I blacked out. I rolled over- and opened my eyes, awake back home, roasted by Agumon as usual. I was soaked in sweat, and my eyes burned with tears.

I was going to get Piedmon for this. I was gonna defeat him and save Base. That's how I'd redeem myself for my failure.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- Please R&R, and then read Chapter 21. I'm working really hard on this fic, and I want to know that people are reading it. No reviews translates to me as no readers. Please just click the damn button and review. It only takes three seconds. Thank you.


	21. Me and My Big Stupid Plan I

GoggleMaster01- Okay, I still don't own Digimon and stuff like that.

This chapter is incredibly long, so please get comfortable. I worked my butt off on this chapter when my computer cabinet was in it's prime, so enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 21

Me and My Big, Stupid Plan I

The next morning, Psystar had no choice but to recruit new suckers to defeat the Dark Masters. We couldn't use the pit for our trash forever, and besides, the Dark Masters freeloading so close to Base was bad enough to start with. Of course, at the morning meting, when Psystar asked for volunteers, nobody stuck their paws up. They didn't feel like getting mauled by Piedmon.

I knew I was probably throwing myself right into MetalSeadramon's mouth. I had very little battle experience, didn't know how to land when I was flying and had the intelligence and attention span of a goldfish. But, it was my duty to protect Base, and therefore my duty to stop the Dark Masters.

I felt my lips move, but I didn't even know I said "I'll go!". And next thing I knew, everyone was staring at me like I was dead meat.

"Taichi! You are only an apprentice! You can't go!" cried Redtail.

"Sure I can! I got two good legs!" I snapped back.

"But you can't go unsupervised!!!" Redtail was hyperventilating.

"Psystar can go with me!" I pointed out.

"I wish I could go, but I'm busy here, Taichi," Psystar said matter-of-factly. "And you aren't strong enough to go alone. Since no one else will volunteer, I will assign-"

"Gimme a moon!" I said. "I'll train myself really hard!" I wasn't going to let Psystar send some random losers to go when I had to prove myself to Base.

"We don't have time!" Redtail said.

"The Dark Masters are preparing for war, building an army," Lionstorm said. "The channels that we put at the bottom of Freefall Cliff so that our garbage doesn't go in the river- they're all in there. All really powerful Digimon, even the Rookies. I saw them in action. Their very existence threatens Base. Besides, we all know you don't really care. You just came because life was BORING back in the Human World."

"Yea. That was part of it at first," I said. "But not anymore. I want to protect Base!"

"If we leave it up to this apprentice, he'll destroy us," Lionsnot growled.

"If YOU care so much, get off your big butt and go!" I snapped.

"Um, I am ineligible to go because I went the first time," Lionstorm said in a snotty official sounding tone.

"It doesn't say that anywhere," Psystar said. Lionsnot shut up and slunk into the crowd. "Loser," I whispered so low that only Agumon could hear.

"That does not change the fact that-" Redtail began.

"Look, nobody else is willing to go, okay?" I said. "Let me train for a moon! I'll be ready by then!"

"You'll be, but the Dark Masters will have been ready for weeks at that point," Psystar said.

"They don't have to be! We can distract them!" I said. "When me and my friends were attacked by Kuwagamon on Freefall Cliff, it crumbled underneath us. If we did it then, we can do it now. The falling rock will damage the army or, if we're lucky, hurt a Dark Master. At best, it'll fall in the river and block MetalSeadramon's advances for a bit. While they're messing with the rocks, I'll get ready to mess with them."

Everyone stared at me. I'd been planning this with Agumon when we were out hunting for breakfast. No one was expecting that idea to come from my tiny brain, but it did. Agumon just helped smooth out the edges.

I went on to explain we send two or three Ultimate or Mega-levels over to Freefall Cliff and stomp around to create a rockfall. They had to be fast too so they could run away, or at least be willing to sacrifice themselves if things went badly. Three Garudamon were selected to go drop the rocks. All three returned alive, and one gave a thumbs up. The plan worked- the Dark Master's army was crushed under the rock.

"You still can't go alone, Taichi," Psystar said. "You're only an apprentice, and even if you were a warrior, this would be a big mission for you, and impossible to do alone. So, Agumon, Riverfur, Deadfoot and Lionstorm will go with you.

"You must learn to fly and land successfully because it is hard to walk in and out of the pit. You will be allowed to train for a moon, but expect your training to be cut short if there's any sign of the Dark Masters recuperating from the rockfall. If you return alive, you will be promoted to a warrior immediately, for defeating them will require skill and courage beyond any apprentice.

"You'll be very busy from now on, Taichi. You are the only DigiDestined-the only Halfborn- in Base. It would be tragic if you died. The fate of the Digital World is in your hands Taichi."

"We're doomed," went somebody in the crowd.

I knew how real the threat of death was and how serious this was (I'd had the fate of two worlds on my back once before, after all), and I knew I had the experience of a goldfish, but I had to push on anyway. I had to save Base and redeem myself.

* * *

Psystar chose his party with good reason. Agumon's my partner, so he had to come. Psystar said he was strong, despite his digivolving handicap, and would be great help and a good companion for me in the Dark Master's stronghold. Deadfoot was big enough to carry the people who couldn't fly in and out of the pit, Lionstorm was an incredibly powerful warrior and after his last goof up, Psystar decided a Chief of Medicine was vital on this trip.

I trained harder and harder each day- I ran faster when I hunted, battled my hardest in battle practice and tried not to surrender to Charlie Brown's Teacher Mode during flying lessons- I was going to need them to get there and back.

One day, Oakfur was bored, so he decided to try me again with fishing lessons. We set out early in the morning.

One hour later, he was still saying "You can do this, Taichi. Remember, it's all about timing." And I hadn't caught so much as a minnow. This was just like when my grandpa taught me to fish normally with a fishing rod- I sucked terribly at that too. The only difference is my mentor didn't launch into a "When I Was A Lad" yarn when he got bored or fed up with me.

A fish slipped through my butterfingers. Then again. Finally, a slow, sleek fish went right under my hand. I grabbed it and pierced it with my claws. The fish was a salmon- and it looked tasty.

"YES! AT LAST!!!" I cried.

"Finally! Get another one, kid, another one!" Oakfur cheered me on. I tried to- twelve more fish went by, out of which I only got three. Okay, I was never the best fisher, but I was improving.

The best part was, whenever I got a new kind of prey, I got to eat it. You'd expect someone born and raised in Japan to like seafood. I did- in the Human World. DigiWorld fish tasted terrible- it was like stale rice with a side of Numemon crap! I spit it out.

"That's a waste of food, Taichi!" Oakfur barked.

"Well, it tasted like a piece of crap!" I spat back.

"I'd like some, actually," Agumon said.

"Enjoy." Agumon accepted my okay and gobbled down the fish in two bites.

"Taichi, you are the craziest kid I've ever met," he said. "But, you're also the bravest, most determined kid I've ever met. You're-you're too young to die, kid."

I knew what he was talking about. "I won't die!" I said. "I'll slug those Dark Masters!"

Oakfur didn't believe me.

* * *

I'd been having a lot of dreams showing the Human World recently, so I was up-to-date on my friend's lives. One night, Sora visited my mom, who was missing me dearly. Sora told my mom not to cry, that everyone missed me and that I was happy. Another night, it was the last day of summer. Me and Kari stayed up late that last day of summer ever since my first summer vacation and made shadow puppets until mom told us to go to bed. This time, however, Kari was using a light from a big monitor and made a few half-hearted shadow puppets, wishing I was there with her.

Speaking of the monitors, Dad was pissed beyond pissed at all the blinking lights and activity of Sesshoku and friends, especially at night. During the night, everyone was getting ready to go to DigiWorld to stalk me by day. Terepo and Kakae visited me a lot, but I was used to them and their Digimon- as I got stronger, Gaomon and Airdramon got easier to beat. Sesshoku was always with my parents, saying I was alive and I'd come home that night, but I'd end up trashing the goons, and Mom and Dad had to wait a night more.

Sometimes, I considered throwing myself to the Sesshoku goons. But, I had a duty here that I needed to fulfill.

I thought every day of my friends and family, all suffering without me. I remembered what Redtail said- I'd see them again, no matter how many years it took. And, I remembered what I'd thought on that day- us DigiDestined were like boomerangs- like Tokomon was back on Server! We'd always bounce right back, no matter what.

And so, I thought of that boomerang bouncing back and I thought of them. Every day, I imagined hunting alongside them. I discussed my battle plans with them inside my head. I said goodnight to them every night, even though they weren't there. Even though some people back home thought I forgot them, that couldn't be further from the truth.

I would never forget them.

* * *

I knew everything about flying. I could takeoff. I could branch- meaning, I could suddenly leap off a branch and into the air without crashing on my face. I could soar on both thermals and winds and change my direction. I even flew backwards once. Yep. I was the master. I was in the clear- almost.

Landing from flight was never pretty- in fact it was downright deadly! I always fell on my face. Most of the time, I was in a bush, so I was okay. Once, though, I nearly broke my leg, and Deadfoot had to save me. I tried tirelessly to fix this bug in my system to no avail.

"You've gotta fix this landing thing soon, bucko," Deadfoot told me. "Team StarClan's not ready for you yet."

"I'm not gonna die!" I said, flashing a peace sign. "I'll fix this landing thing. Watch." That said, I jumped up into the air and tried to land. And of course, I fell flat on my face.

* * *

Bronzepaw got meaner and meaner every day. Three out of four times he was sent to clean out the elder's den, it was because he'd snapped at me. Each time he got punished was the same- he screamed "Stupid Halfborn!" and I replied with "I'm not stupid, you're stupid, bum face!", which got me yelled at but not forced to share Bumpaw's fate.

I have to say, I was doing quite well. In school, I was half troublemaker, half class clown. I had a record of detentions and my grades never got above a C. And I don't even want to TALK about this one meeting my parents had with Mr. Fujiyama, where they spent an hour listening to how badly I sucked in school and about the "glory days of Mr. Fujiyama's school career". And trust me, I've heard the "glory days" speech a lot, so I know how infuriating it is.

Maybe that's part of why I got grounded for two months instead of one, like I usually did. (No soccer for two months- that was the worst two months of my young life)

But here, I was doing well. I still made smart little quips, but I was behaving better compared to my school days. Plus, the Charlie Brown's Teacher Mode, which I started having when I got bored in the third grade, was popping up less and less- I have to say, it only reared it's ugly head once in battle practice. I only got sent to the elder's den twice during the moon, and everyone said I was becoming quite the warrior.

My attendance was better too. Every other day was a tardy day for me in the Human World, but here, I'd only missed morning and evening announcements a grand total of ONE time, and that was on the day I was going to start flying.

Yep, I was doing good. But I still had to stop falling on my face when I landed.

* * *

I wasn't the only one getting stronger- Agumon had gotten over his handicap of not being able to digivolve and was a better hunter and fighter than ever. We spent our rare free moments together. He taught me how to play-fight (I got good quick) and I taught him how to play soccer.

One time, I was hunting for dinner and happened upon a big coconut. I was used to seeing the random coconuts in the Digital World- they fell from the trees with the yellow oak leaves and were gathered along with the geese for festivals. They were brown and soccer-ball sized. I missed being able to play soccer, so I took the coconut home with me and made it my soccer ball. That coconut made me so happy- I missed being able to play soccer.

Many times I had stared at the stands in Pokemon Square enviously, because I had no money and saw a soccer ball for sale. It was 3000 bits (which was the money in Base) more than I had, a grand total of zero. The warriors were paid bits once each week. I thought it would be only fair that I got some pocket allowance, but I didn't really have time to shop with my crazy training schedule.

At first, I was happy I had the coconut. Then, I learned the nut came with complications- sometimes I kicked to hard and milk leaked out and made the floor and my sneakers sticky, so it was hard to run. I begged for pocket money, but I didn't get any. Why? Apparently, the mentors give their apprentices pocket money, and Psystar, being leader, got everything for free, so he didn't need to have any. I thought that was a bit unfair.

I really wanted a soccer ball that didn't spill milk whenever I kicked it.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- There you go. There will be a Part II to this training montage, but I need a computer cabinet and a chiropractor for my sore wrists, so who knows when it's getting done. (I have some of it typed up already, though) I don't have any more spoilers, so I'll leave the ones covering these two chapters on my user profile until I write more. And, as always, I ask for reviews. I need them to live. Don't let me die.


	22. Me and My Big Stupid Plan II

GoggleMaster01- I'm back with Part II to the montage! No, I didn't get my computer cabinet back! (wa wa!) But, I had to post the next chapter, and here it is. I still own not a scrap of Pokemon, Digimon or Warriors. (disclaimers suck!)

* * *

Chapter 22

Me and My Big, Stupid Plan II

It was a week before the big day. The Dark Masters were still distracted with the rockfall, but I knew whatever damage it caused would be cleared very soon now.

The warriors of Base were making armor for me. Why me? Well, as Redtail put it, "You're a human with wings. Humans are soft, squishy bags of flesh with a brittle skeleton. The Dark Masters will destroy you swiftly if we don't encase that bag of flesh in something sturdy."

I was insulted at being called a bag of flesh. "Well, sorry I don't have a big freakish shell on my back like you!" I snapped. And I was sent straight to Elder's Poop Land.

After I cleaned out the elder's den, Riverfur took measurements for my armor. She noted that my arms looked like noodles. "I'm stronger than I look," I said. "I don't know why everyone thinks I'm a wimp."

"You're stronger than Lionstorm, that's for sure," Agumon told me.

"How?" I said. "He's a big cat with a bad attitude! And I'd make a good chew toy for him!"

"You have more courage than he does, Tai," Agumon said. Then, he began to mimic Lionsnot- "I am ineligible to go"- and we both laughed.

When she'd finished with me, Riverfur told me that I should consider getting a haircut. "That big hairball isn't going to fit in your helmet," she said. "We'll have to make a hole in the top, and that will be a weak spot."

I began to think. "Hmm- get hit in the head or cut my hair...hmm...no, I've had this haircut ever since I was five."

"I don't care." Riverfur gave me a piece of paper. "This is a vendor in Pokemon Square. He's a friend of mine- tell him I sent you. He'll cut your hair for free."

I shook my head no. "Sorry, but this bird's nest has grown on me," I said. "They're gonna have to make a hole."

"It'll be less work for you in the morning," Riverfur said.

Gosh, she was stubborn, but not as stubborn as me. "WHAT PART OF NO DO YOU NOT GET, LADY?" I yelled, louder than I meant to. Riverfur had some trouble keeping grounded from the force of my yell. But, she shook it off and pinned me to the floor.

"At least get it trimmed," she said.

"Or what?" I spat.

"I force cough syrup down your throat!" Riverfur said triumphantly, holding up a sickly green bottle.

I had no idea where she got it from, but I wasn't going to chug down cough syrup to protect my hair. After all, it was just a trim, right? Once a moon, Mom dragged me kicking and screaming to get my hair trimmed. I'd been here for about two moons. My hair was a mess of split ends. I thought of what my mom would say- "Taichi Kamiya, I've had it with that hair! Get your coat right now, we're getting it trimmed RIGHT NOW!"

Gawd, I missed her.

"Fine, I'll go," I half-mumbled. "But only a trim. I'm overdue for one anyway."

Riverfur took me to her friend, a red bug-like Pokemon she said was a Scizor. I spent the next hour getting my hair washed and cut and screaming, "Hey, buddy! If you shave my hair off, I'm gonna whack you so hard in the mouth, you'll go flying into the next dimension!" and crap like that.

But he didn't shave my hair off, and I proved it in the mirror on the bathroom door. It looked pretty good actually.

I went to go get my coconut. Mom usually took me to go kick a soccer ball around after I got my hair trimmed, anyway.

* * *

Five days from the big day, I got to see my helmet. It had a big hole in the top, as promised, but looked like a European knight's helmet in any other way. It was made of bronze and gold and looked a little weird, but I didn't give a crap. I tried it on, but it was too big, and it fell around my neck. Oops. Back to the drawing board, I guess.

I was battling hard in practice, learning moves that baffled even warriors. Some were made easier due to my opposable thumbs. For instance, Psystar was going to give me a sword for battle, but he gave me a pole to practice with. And some were just damn hard! Some of the ways the sword was maneuvered were difficult.

"You're doing well, Taichi," Psystar said. "Have faith in yourself and in your blade. Everyone around here is doubtful that you will survive, Taichi, but I am not. The only thing that worries me is your landing-"

"I know," I said. "My landing sucks. I'm working on it! I'll be ready by the end of the moon!"

"Taichi, you may not have the rest of the moon," Psystar said.

That was all too true.

* * *

I was so exhausted that I fell asleep the minute I slammed down on my moss bed and I curled up. I was better at it than that first night, where I was in that defective ball with my wing sticking up. Now, my wings were comfortably covering me like a blanket, and my limbs were tucked in. My head lay comfortably over my arms and I dozed off easily.

In my dreams, I was in this black void with white numbers and letters spinning by my head. I hadn't been to this place since I was fighting Gaomon. So, I wasn't surprised when the voice said, "Welcome back, Hero of Flame. I will permit you another question, and give you as much information as I can to answer your question."

I could have used this time to learn the identity of the voice, but I was more concerned with the Dark Masters. "Are the Dark Masters still distracted by the rockfall?" I asked.

"You will not like this," the voice said. "The rockfall did obstruct the river and create a barrier for the forces of MetalSeadramon and kill many of the Dark Master's soldiers. But, they have since cleared the rockfall and have enlisted twice as many men. They are making advances and will come to the surface in two days."

I could barely stand. "I thought I had five days," I said.

"You do not. You must tell Psystar what I told you," the voice said. "Tell Psystar ENIAC told you this, he'll know who that is."

"Who?" I asked.

ENIAC didn't like that. "ONE QUESTION ONLY, HERO OF FLAME!" she screamed.

"Okay. I...get...it..." I fell into deep sleep.

The next day, I told Psystar about my dream. "What is this ENIAC?" I asked.

"ENIAC is the first programmable computer in the Human World, and the foundations of the Digital World are stored on it," Psystar explained. "ENIAC is not known to most of the warriors. If it is visiting you, there must be something special about you, Taichi, and we are lucky it came, or we would have been taken by surprise and most likely slain."

"I think ENIAC is a she," I pointed out. "Her voice sounds kinda like Kari's."

"Hey, Tai, remember when Kari was possessed by that thing when we were fighting Puppetmon?" Agumon asked me. "Maybe it was that ENIAC."

"That's right, Agumon," Psystar said. "ENIAC must have chosen to retain Kari's voice, although why she would want a human-Halfborn-voice is beyond me."

* * *

Well, with only two days to go, the heat was on. I tried to fix my landing bug and instead did another epic fail, once even knocking down Agumon as I crashed.

That night, I was looking up at the stars. I thought about how much I'd grown with Team StarClan and ENIAC watching over me. What would my family say if they saw me now, I wonder? What would Sora or Izzy say? What would Matt say? He'd probably be too afraid to fight with a pyro! Yea!

Suddenly, one of the stars began to increase in size- and come closer. A shooting star? It was hurtling towards me! "KYAH!" I began to run, but the star slammed into the earth- two feet away. The star was smaller than I thought it would be, and very bright. It appeared to be covered in feathers.

The star uncurled itself revealing a familiar face- my own!

"Future me!" I cried out. I hadn't seen him since the day I chose not to go back to the Human World.

Furture me smiled, exposing a small fang on the left side of his mouth. "Told ya you'd be happy," he said. "Time has caught up with me, dude. I cannot exist as a separate entity anymore. I'll have to be absorbed by you."

"Huh?" I was confused.

"I'm not future you anymore, I'm present you," future me explained. "I was created when you entered the Digital World as a failsafe in case anything happened to Gennai. The others had future selves too, but something, or someone, stopped them before they touched down. We was allowed to exist until time caught up with us. And now, it has, so there isn't any reason for there to be two Tais. I'll have to return to your body."

"Oh," I said. Future me began to walk towards me.

"Wait!" I said. "Thank you for everything."

Future me smiled. "I'm glad I was able to fulfill my duty," he said. The other me charged at me and was absorbed into my body. I felt a warm tingling feeling- I could tell future me felt like he did a job well done.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- Read and review, please! I know you're there- I checked my reader traffic (didn't know how before) and low and behold, there were people from Quatar reading this fic! (no, I did not make up that country) REVIEW THIS FIC OR I'LL GO MENTAL! (if I didn't already!)


	23. A New World

GoggleMaster01- Okay, now we see the adventures of future Tai! This chapter is seven pages long (oh, mama!) and half of it is dialogue from the episode itself- I just superimposed Tai in scenes he shouldn't have been in. (nosy Tai-kun) Enjoy Tai's next adventure! (Oh yeah, still down own Digimon!)

* * *

Chapter 23

Aratana Sekai (A New World)

That night, I had a dream. I was running from a shadowy Kuwagamon. I tried to attack it with my Flamethrower, but all I got was a puff of smoke. "Flamethrower!" I yelled. "Flamethrower! Come on!"

Kuwagamon sliced me across the left eye, and it stung with real pain. I closed it and kept running. My good eye caught a light, and I ran towards it. I ran out into the light and then began to fall through the floor and spin out of control. The further down I fell, the more the pain in my eye ebbed away, and I fell into darkness.

I didn't know how long I was in deep sleep, but at some point I opened my eyes to the sounds of children's voices. I lifted my head up. I was on the edge of Base territory. I could see Cape Barra. I looked around me, to my left, my right, at the sky- HOLY CRAP! There was an eclipse! I looked directly under the eclipse and saw a green and white cable car resting on a small island. This was the day my friends left!

I walked around until I found them, talking about staying in the Digital World. Past me was there too. And so were Centarumon and the fake Gennai. I stayed out of sight behind a bush so no one would get wigged out when they saw two Tais.

"It's an eclipse!" Izzy cried out, having just noticed the huge black disk cover the sun.

"Yes, it is. And there's something very important you should know about it, children," fake Gennai said seriously. I still couldn't believe it was a fake- he sounded just like the real deal.

"I know! I know!" Mimi cried out. "You're not supposed to look directly into it!"

"Well, dur," I whispered. I thought past me turned around for a second, but it was just my imagination playing games with me.

"True. That's not all. This eclipse could cost you your lives,"fake Gennai said.

"You mean it's not an ordinary eclipse?" Izzy asked curiously.

"That shadow is the gate that connects your world to the digital world," fake Gennai explained. "I'm afraid the eclipse will only last for two more hours."

"That's not a problem. We'll just wait until it opens up again," Matt pointed out. I hoped he was right and the gate would reopen, but Psystar said it might take years. "Yeah. After all, we still have over a hundred years of summer vacation left!" Mimi said, jumping around like a rabbit with jumping beans in its belly and Moon Shoes bolted to its feet. (Or maybe just me when I eat chocolate!)

"Actually, when Apocalymon appeared, the flow of time here and in your world became synchronized," fake Gennai pointed out. I wasn't sure if fake Gennai was right about the flow of time. If he was bluffing, I'd have to wait a thousand years or more- and probably die before I saw my friends again.

"So, then, we still have four weeks left, right?" Mimi asked.

"That's plenty of time to have fun," Mat added.

"Well, actually, you only have the two hours, because once the portal is closed, it's closed forever," fake Gennai lied.

"But..." Matt sounded like he wanted to say something.

"Sorry. It's time to say goodbye," fake Gennai said.

"Ohh..." Eight very sad children and eight very sad Digimon said "Ohh..." at the same time.

I wondered- why had I not said a word about this? I didn't say anything in our defense, and I would have walked onto that cable car if future me didn't pop by. Why was I so accepting of my fate? Why...

* * *

I followed my friends one by one, curious to see how they said goodbye to their Digimon friends. I ran into Sora first. She and Biyomon were sitting in a tree

"I'm sure gonna miss you, Sora," Biyomon said. "Say hi to your mom for me when you get back."

"Sure. I wanna thank you, Biyomon," Sora replied. "Before I met you, I didn't get along with my mom very well. We argued. She would never let me do anything. But thanks to you, I understand her a lot better. You showed me how much my mom really loves me."

"You mean it?" Biyomon looked confused.

"Of course," Sora replied.

"That makes me so happy to hear you say that," Biyomon chirped. "Sometimes I thought I was just bothering you and getting in your way all the time."

"Don't be silly. You weren't a bother, you're my best friend! Oh, Biyomon, I'm gonna miss you so much!" The two began to cry as they hugged.

I myself made gagging noises at the sickly sweetness of their conversation. I didn't care what Sora thought now, because my personal opinion of Sora's mom was the same- that she was a lunatic. I one waited for three hours at the park to play soccer with Sora, and when she finally showed up, she said her mom kept her inside to run the flower shop and she had to wait for her mom to leave the room to sneak out the back window.

Sora sniffled. "Tai?" Sora turned my way.

Crap! She noticed me! I scampered into the bushes. "Tai!" I ran through the bushes with Sora following me, screaming "It's not funny, Tai! Stop making those noises!"

I kept running for several minutes before Sora's footsteps died down. I was lying down in the bushes, perfectly still, just to catch my breath. I thought Sora was gone, but I heard, "Stupid Tai. I thought you were with Agumon," so I stayed hidden until I was sure she was gone.

When I was sure she left, I crawled through the bushes for a while. Suddenly, I heard loud crying.

"That's T.K.'s voice!" I said. I pushed my way through the bushes until I popped out into a field. As I got closer, I could in fact see T.K. and Patamon crying like little babies.

"T.K., will you stop crying, because you're making me cry!" Patamon sobbed.

"I- I- I was just crying because you were crying!" T.K. sobbed back.

"Well, if you're crying because I'm crying, and I'm crying because you're crying, then neither one of us needs to be crying, do we?" Patamon sobbed in reply.

"I wish I'd brought my umbrella," I murmured.

"Oh yeah," T.K. said. He and Patamon turned to face each other.

"Besides, I'm sure we're gonna see each other again one day," Patamon said.

"Yeah, just like we saw each other again after that thing with Devimon!" T.K. chirped.

"That's right, we did!" Patamon replied.

"Let's make a pact," T.K. said. "We'll see each other again! Promise?"

"Promise!" T.K. and Patamon started laughing together. I remembered my promise to T.K. to take care of Patamon, but I hadn't seen the other Digimon since they went screaming after the cable car. The only Chosen Digimon I'd seen since my friends left was Agumon.

"...T.K.," I said. Then, I left the field to go be nosy elsewhere, though I had a snaking suspicion that T.K. looked in my direction.

* * *

The next people I bumped into on my little safari were Joe and Gomamon.

"I know it's gonna be hard to find a friend as great as I am, Gomamon," Joe said. "But, you'll have to try."

"Not a problem. I took an ad out in the personals. I've got five interviews lined up for next week!" Gomamon chirped.

"I really hope this guy's kidding," I whispered. If he could learn he had to be separated from Joe, buy a spot in the personal ads, check to see that he had five interviews (that came in at the same time, may I add?) then race over to Joe to say goodbye all in about, say, twenty minutes, that is one magic Digi!

Joe didn't seem to think Gomamon was serious either. He held his hand out to the water Digimon.

"What?" Gomamon looked confused.

"At least let's shake hands," Joe suggested.

"Okay. For luck!" Gomamon said.

Gomamon scratched his head, then placed his paw in Joe's hand. Joe didn't even flinch. If this had been at the start of our DigiWorld adventure, he would have fainted! (What did you have up there? AHHHH!)

"For someone without a hand, you've got a pretty strong grip," Joe told Gomamon. The two laughed.

"Ah. A Kodak moment," I said. I then began to shuffled off into the woods to locate my next victim. Behind me, I heard Joe's voice- "Did you see that, Gomamon?"

"What?" Gomamon asked. "Nothing," Joe replied.

* * *

"For me?" Gatomon's voice rang clear as a bell out of the trees. "Kari!" I cried. I was close to my sister. Drinking the air, I breathed in her scent for the first time. It smelled sweet and reminded me of my family. Kari was giving her whistle to Gatomon.

"Here, let me put it on you. It doubles as a flea collar," Kari said with a laugh, putting the whistle around Gatomon's neck.

"Thanks, Kari." Gatomon looked forlornly at the present.

"It looks good on you!" Kari said, trying to make the best out of the situation.

"Gee, thanks. Oh well, I guess this is...goodbye," Gatomon said with a blush.

"Yeah. Til next time," Kari said.

"Next time?" Gatomon blinked in confusion.

"Yep, that's right!" Kari smiled, and I grew all warm inside. "I love you, Kari!" I blurted out. I then slammed my hand over my flapping lips and ran off into the woods.

"Onii-san?" Kari turned around and saw me running off.

"That Tai sure is a strange one," Gatomon said. "You'd think he'd be off someplace with Agumon."

I turned back. Kari was waving. I covered my face so she didn't see me crying.

* * *

"Palmon! Where are you? I want to say goodbye!" There was no mistaking Mimi's voice. It looks like this is around the time when Palmon gave Mimi the slip.

"Huh? Princess Mimi, what are you doing?" A Gekomon popped out of the bushes.

"Stalker," I mumbled, half to myself.

"Palmon's disappeared. Have you seen her?" Mimi asked worriedly.

"Not recently. Sorry," was the Gekomon's reply.

"I don't understand how she could leave at a time like this! There's only a few minutes left! Palmon! Where are you? I'm leaving soon!" Mimi ran off continuing her search.

"Hm." I walked off in search of my next set of victims- and tripped over something!

"Mimi..." It was Palmon.

"Palmon, so that's where you're hiding!" I said. "It's me, Tai! Mimi's been looking for you!"

"Yes, I know. But I don't want to see her," Palmon sniffled.

"I don't understand." I nervously fiddled with my wing. She didn't seem to have noticed it. Palmon's eyes were filled with tears, so they must have been blurring her vision.

"It's simple. If I don't see her, then she can never say goodbye to me," Palmon sobbed. "It's too painful to say goodbye..."

"Palmon, stop being a coward!" I yelled, louder than I meant to. "You're Mimi's Digimon, right? And you've always been there for her, right? Well, why chicken out now after all that you went through? You stuck by Mimi longer than anybody when she was Princess Mimi, longer than even the Gekomon! You care about her a lot! And if you REALLY care, the least you can do for Mimi is say goodbye to her!"

"Tai..." Palmon sniffled. She wiped her eyes. I gulped. She'd see my wings and flip out! I bolted off. "Just go say goodbye to Mimi, for Pete's sake!" I cried out as I ran away.

* * *

I rushed out to check out the cable car. Izzy had chosen here to say goodbye. He was siting with Tentomon in the driver's seat. I hopped on the cable car for the second time in my life and listened in.

"Tentomon?" Izzy asked.

"Yes, Izzy?" Tentomon asked, his big bug eyes showing no emotion.

"There's something I need to tell you before we part ways, okay?" Izzy told Tentomon. "I love you." (*Author's Note- Not in that way, Yaoi/Interspecies Fangirls Club of the World! Half of this chapter was taken from the actual episode, and if you listen, he really does say this, but he doesn't mean it in THAT way, people!*)

Tentomon yelped and fell over backwards. Izzy knocked his PiMac out of the way to help him up, and turned the windshield wipers on by accident. I thought back to when Izzy flipped out when I'd whacked it. "Not so precious anymore, is it now?" I asked.

"Tentomon! Are you okay?" Izzy cried, unaware that tjhe laptop had crashed to the floor.

"Yes, I'm fine, but I was a little taken aback by your sudden display of emotion," Tentomon said faintly.

"You're right. Sorry about that. I don't usually get emotional, but this was a unique occasion," Izzy said.

"I understand. You don't have to say it. I know how much our friendship has meant to us," Tentomon explained. "And in the name of our friendship, I need to ask you

one last favor."

"Yeah, what is it?" Izzy asked. I noticed the windshield wipers and had a feeling about what it was. At the same time, me and Tentomon both screamed, "Would you please turn off those windshield wipers?"

"Sure thing, pal. Anything for you," Izzy said. "Gimme a hug."

Izzy proceeded to hug Tentomon. "Ah! Ah! You're choking me!" Tentomon rasped. "Should I help him? Hm... Na!" I went off to go see how Matt was doing. I spun around- I felt like Izzy had seen me run out the door.

* * *

"Hmmm."

"Hmm."

Gabumon and Matt were on top of a hill overlooking Cape Barra. I'd flown up there and crashed into a tree. And I'd been sitting there looking down at the two of them. And all they'd been saying is "Hmm." for the past TEN MINUTES!

"Hmmm." "Hmm." I banged my head on the tree trunk. This was BORING! B-O-R-R-I-N-G! I was about to leave them to "Hmm." when Gabumom said, "Hmmm. That says it all."

"Mmm hmmm." Matt wasn't ready to stop "Hmm."ing yet.

"I wouldn't mind hearing you play your harmonica, one last time," Gabumon said more than asked.

"Glad to." Matt picked up the dreaded instrument.

"STOP! DON'T PLAY THAT THING!" I screamed. "It sounds like a dying cat!"

"Tai?" I had jumped out of the tree with my uber branching skills before he saw me. "That's weird. I thought I saw Tai..." Matt sighed and began to play the stupid harmonica anyway.

I sighed. They'd seen me. Everyone had seen me. Matt's harmonica burned my ears as I flew, but I missed him, so I didn't care that much. Seeing everyone made me miss them more.

I looked up at the sky- and saw the gate closing! I'd been so busy worrying about my friends that I hadn't stopped to think- if time caught up with future me, I WAS FUTURE ME, and if I didn't go see myself, I could end up changing the future and getting stuck in Odaibia!

The thought caused me to plummet to the earth. BLAM! After I crash landed, I tried to run, but I couldn't. "Huh?" I turned around- and sure enough, my leg was caught in a crag in a rock!

Just like...

"Hey! A little help over here!" I screamed absentmindedly. This was weird. I was going to help my past self make a life-changing decision. Doesn't happen to too many fifth-graders.

Something grabbed my arm. I didn't need to look to know who it was. "That's weird. It's solid. And it feels warm," said a voice not unlike my own. My arm was tugged and tugged mercilessly until I felt like it might pop out of the socket. Gawd, I have a strong grip! Eventually, I was torn free. I flew through the air and landed on my butt.

"Ah, thanks," I said dreamily. I felt like I was flying through a sky made of pudding. My head throbbed.

"Tai, what's going on?" Agumon asked.

"You don't see that ghost guy who looks like me?" past me asked. I could finally get a good look at him. Without wings, he seemed like he couldn't have been me. But, he was, and his adventure would soon begin.

"No," Agumon said, shaking his head in reply to past me's question.

"Okay, I know the past few days have been weird," I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. "I present to you- More Weird! Let's see, where to begin? Hi, I'm you. From the future."

"What?" past me asked. "I'm gonna be a ghost?"

"Ha ha- no," I said. Kids- they're so funny! "And do I have news for you! I know where you're going- back home to Odibia."

"How do you know where I'm going?" past me asked shakily.

"I'm you, remember?" I said. (dur) "We both hate it there, don't we?"

"Yeah," past me said.

"Well, you're gonna get a load of this," I said. "Now, before I tell you this, you gotta promise me one thing. You have to promise not to go back to Odaibia." Future me probably said that so he would be sure I wouldn't hear his advice, then run away back to Odaibia anyway. If he did that, it would change the future.

"Not go back?" past me yelped, sounding like a scared child. "I have to! My mom and dad and-"

"Then, I guess you don't want to go explore the rest of the Digital World," I said. "Climb up mountains, swim through the rivers, save the world a few more times-"

"I do! I do want to explore the Digital World!" past me cried out.

"Then, you know what you'll have to do," I said.

Past me thought for a long time. "Alright, I promise I won't go back," past me said at last.

"Okay, I'll tell you where to get all the answers," I said. I proceeded to tell him where Base was.

"What about the others? Matt, Sora, Kari?" past me asked.

Well, they missed the boat. It probably had a connection to the Kuwagamon from the beginning of the dream. "You'll have to tell them," I said. "They must all go to that tree stump."

"Then why did Gennai say 'asta la vista' and arrange for us to go back if there's something else we gotta do?" past me asked.

"I can't tell you," I said. "You'll have to find out for yourself."

"Boy, I did call Gennai a fountain of information when I first met him, but when it comes to information, you're Old Faithful," past me said sarcastically.

I couldn't help but chuckle. I walked up to past me on all fours and touched my nose to his. I didn't know why. Maybe it was a Halfborn thing. "Tai, you like leadership, adventure, the wind blowing through your hair," I explained. "That's the life you want, not the one in Odibia."

"Yea," past me said. "You're right! Oh, man, I've loved this adventure. It was so cool- y'know, making new friends, saving the world, seeing places I've never seen before. I thought it would never end."

"Do you want it to end?" I asked, sounding nervous. If he said yes, it would affect my future.

"No. Agumon and me, we had so much fun-" past me took a breath. "I lived, I laughed, I grew up a little, made friends." Past me smiled, his memories making him happy. "Okay, dude, you win. I'm staying here."

"I'm glad," I said. I then remembered future me's weird Star Trek-ish goodbye, and it was probably talking about team StarClan, the ones who'd been watching over me since the day I crash landed in the Digital World for the first time. "Good luck out there, dude, and may the stars be with you!"

I smiled, feeling a single fang slip out of my mouth as I fell into the inky blackness of deep sleep.

I'd wake up on my moss bed in the morning.

* * *

GoggleMaster01- There you go, guys. Read and review this fic! And I mean YOU TOO, people in Quatar!


	24. Seasick of MetalSeadramon

GoggleMaster01- Long time no see, folks! I'm uploading FIVE chapters today! Yay! Yay!

I decided to upload all of the Dark Masters chapters in a big happy bundle! They will be defeated in the same order as in the anime, and there will also be a mysterious new OC Digimon introduced- Tsukaimon. (He's a Virus version of Patamon). Tai's amazing adventure continues now! (And yea, I still don't own Digimon or stuff like that)

* * *

Chapter 24

Seasick of MetalSeadramon

**T**he next morning, I got roasted by Agumon. He looked worried. I found I couldn't open my left eye. I also found myself in the medicine den.

"Tai, you okay?" Agumon asked.

"Huh? Wh-why am I in here?" I asked.

"When I woke up, I saw a scratch on your eye," Agumon said. "I have no clue how you got it, but it looked pretty bad. Riverfur covered it up and used a healing move to prevent an infection-"

"I don't care! I need to fight the Dark Masters!" I cried.

"We know." Riverfur came in and unbandaged my eye. "My Softboiled should keep out infection, but I'd keep the visor on your helmet down, just to be safe. I have no clue how you could have gotten this. It's going to scar, though..."

Riverfur babbled on and on. The only thing I could think of was Kuwagamon attacking me in my dream. But that was impossible. It was just a dream.

Or, maybe not. I had been future me, so maybe...

My armor was completed. The helmet was a smaller version of the original design, and the body armor was made of bronze and gold with the Crest of Courage emblazoned on the chest. The fingertips were open so I could stick my claws out and there were huge wingholes in the back. On the lower back were the words "Hero of Flame" in Japanese written in white gold.

I'd gotten my claws sharpened at the same guy who'd trimmed my hair to prepare them for battle. The armor was heavy. I tried to put it on myself, but I couldn't lift it. I dropped it on the floor.

"We don't want any dents or holes in that, Tai," Redtail said, picking up the helmet. "Your head has enough dents and holes already."

I didn't have to go hunt for breakfast because everyone thought I was a dead man and wanted to give me a good last meal. I got a bunch of nice warm mice and I gobbled them down.

After that, I was helped into my armor by an Andromon. I asked if he was my friend Andromon, but he'd never met me before. I walked around in my armor for a bit until I was used to it. It felt like I was inside a tin can at first, but I was soon used to it. I put the visor down and met up with Agumon, who seemed impressed with my armor.

We met up with the others outside. Lionsnot's face was twisted into an expression of fear. Agumon joined him and Riverfur on Deadfoot's back. Psystar emerged to wish us off. "Taichi, I wish to tell you, just in case I don't see you again, that you are not responsible for the deaths of the original troop. I am very proud of all that you've done. I-I just hope you fix your landing glitch on the field."

Then, Psystar did something surprising. He went right up and hugged me. I instantly thought of my family. Psystar was my second dad, and I might never see him again. I hugged him back, tears forming in my eyes. "I'm coming back," I said. "And I'll bring Piedmon's head to prove it. But, in case I don't make it, thanks for everything you taught me."

Psystar nodded and handed me my sword. It had a steel blade and a golden hilt. I'd learned how to expertly wield it over the past moon. He started to say something, but there was a loud booming voice.

"WE'RE COMING FOR YOU, YOU LITTLE MAGGOT!" Piedmon's voice rang out.

"Uh, I guess that's them," I said uneasily. "C'mon, let's go!" We all ran off in the direction of Freefall Cliff.

Everyone except Psystar. He turned to go back, calling, "You've taught me a great deal too," over his shoulder. "Thank you for staying here. Tai."

It was the first time he'd called me by my nickname.

There are times in life where even the bravest people (like me) want to run like a little schoolgirl. This was one of those times. All four Dark Masters were on the cliff waiting for us. MetalSeadramon was drooling in anticipation- I had a feeling he'd be our first opponent.

"Well, well, well, looks like you came after all," Piedmon said. "We thought you'd never stop running all over this island."

"I brought my friends," I said. "We'll beat you, Piedmon!"

Machinedramon let out a cruel parody of laughter. "Really? A runt who can't Digivolve, a Champion level, a weak looking Pokemon and the catlike idiot from last time? Don't make me laugh. Mekanorimon, seize the mons."

Two Mekanorimon came out of nowhere and grabbed my teammates. A third clipped Deadfoot's wings. Agumon attempted to fire a Pepper Breath, but the Mekanorimon were unaffected.

"Get rid of them for now. We'll deal with them later," Machinedramon said. The Machine Digimon lifted everyone (one was strong enough to lift Deadfoot) and then tossed my entire army of Freefall Cliff. "TAI!" Agumon screamed. "AGUMON!" I screamed back. They kept falling and falling, and then my sharp hearing heard a thud.

"No. No." My head was reeling. Were they- dead? No. Not Agumon. He couldn't be dead-

"And then there was one," Piedmon sneered.

"Let me at him first!" Puppetmon said. "I can't wait to play Hide-Seek-and-Destroy with him!"

"Actually, I was going to get back at him first for the Terra Force," MetalSeadramon growled.

"Not to mention the damage the little runt did to my city," Machinedramon threw in.

"You killed them! I'll never forgive you! Flamethrower, ha!" I shot a fireball at Piedmon, who shrugged it off.

"They aren't dead," Piedmon said. "We're just keeping them in custody until we finish with you." He snapped his fingers. Hundreds of thousands of Digimon crawled out of the pit, all with the red mark and all menacing.

"Go find Pokemon Base and destroy it," Piedmon said. "They'll pay for that rockfall." The Digimon charged. I shot more fireballs at them. I couldn't let these jerks get to Base and kill my comrades. I couldn't let them kill Psystar-

Piedmon grabbed me around the waist and threw me into the air. I could only hear his evil laughter as I fell over the cliff.

* * *

I woke up and staggered to my feet. I was in a dark room with several small twinkling white dots. Was this Team StarClan? If so, I was dead, and the Digital World was done for!

"I'm not ready to die yet!" I screamed. "I need to save the Digital World! I need to stop Piedmon! I can't die! Team StarClan, please, let me go!"

"You are not dead." A door opened and a small Digimon stepped in. It looked sort of like Patamon, but was a dark blue color and had that red mark on his forehead.

"Patamon?" I asked. This was where they went- they were captured by Piedmon and made his slaves!

"I am not Patamon. I am Tsukaimon," the little Digimon said in a childish yet evil voice. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl. "You've been out like a light for three hours now, you have. In that time, we've taken your armor and put you in cuffs. MetalSeadramon-sama wanted to see you. Awake."

I struggled to my feet. I'd went and gotten myself captured, like a dope. But it was better than being dead, I guess. I could escape and find the others-

MetalSeadramon broke the door down with his massive head. Tsukaimon bowed and stepped to the side.

"Tai," MetalSeadramon spat in disgust. "You're pretty much dead meat. I wanted to tell you something before I killed you, however. The one who summoned us- that human, Sesshoku, I believe was his name- he doesn't care about you. In fact, he hates your guts. You were always such a troublemaker back home, and he'd give anything to get rid of you."

"So?" I asked. "Why does that matter?"

"It matters because he's using your parents!" MetalSeadramon snapped. "His own apartment is too small for his machines, and office has been destroyed. He needed a workplace to carry out the Plan, and he used your absence to get it. See, he really wants to destroy DigiWorld so it doesn't pull his two brats back into it. So, he revived us to get rid of it. His brats are safe, we wreak as much havoc as we want, everybody wins. Except for you!"

I was trying to process what MetalSeadramon had just said. Sesshoku was destroying this world so that it didn't call Matt and T.K. back and reunited them with Gabumon and Patamon. "But, why would he-" I began.

"Because the Digital World can and will call the DigiDestined back to it at any time," MetalSeadramon growled. "He wants to protect his two brats from this dangerous world. Don't know why- I'd personally like to take a bite out of them. But as long as we get to take over this world, I really don't care."

"Then, what about the Sesshoku goons?" I asked. "Cocky and Terepo and their Digimon?"

"They would have brought you here and I would have eaten you!" MetalSeadramon bellowed. "But I didn't need them!" MetalSeadramon lunged at me and I was sucked into his mouth. My handcuffs got stuck on his fangs, and when he bit down, he broke them, and I fell down his gullet.

During the terrifying plunge, I couldn't help thinking about what MetalSeadramon had said. My parents were being used for Sesshoku's dirty work- and they had no clue. Sesshoku would probably tell them he couldn't find me once he'd won. I didn't know which made me more sick- the fact my parents were being used or the thought of my family crying because they'd never see me again.

I started to fall into his stomach, but I spread my wings and got stuck in his esophagus. If I fell into the stomach, I was going to be digested and then it would be bye-bye Tai. (Although with my big bushy hair, I'd at least give him indigestion) I had to make MetalSeadramon throw me up, but then I had him waiting for me on the outside. Alternatively, I could try and destroy him from the inside out. He'd turn to data and I'd fall out. But, I might turn to data with him!

I tried to crawl back up MetalSeadrmon's throat, but I could only tilt my head. I could see his uvula, the thing people hit in cartoons all the time. If I hit that, I could trigger his gag reflex and get out of here. I'd probably spend weeks washing off his spit and scouring my hair, but at least I wouldn't be hanging perilously over his stomach.

I'd have to aim behind my head, so I struggled to get my hands into position. I looked up at my target- and saw a hunk of meat the size of me with my wings tucked in tight hurtling at me! MetalSeadramon was probably using the meat to dislodge me and send me into his stomach! I had only one shot. I had to get around the meat and hit the uvula, and I didn't have much time to plan how. "Flamethrower, ha!" I shot behind me. Nothing happened. I was going to be MetalSeadramon's DigiDinner!

Suddenly, I heard a gagging sound. MetalSeadramon then started to cough. I'd done it! Of course, that's when the meat hit, and I began to fall. I almost hit MetalSeadramon's stomach and was digested, but I flapped my wings and was soon floating above the surface of the lake of green acid. It bubbled menacingly at me as I tried to locate the esophagus. There it was- a hole at the top of the stomach!

Suddenly, a jet of acid shot up at me. MetalSeadramon was desperate to digest me! I soared out of the way, but the acid caught some of the feathers I left behind when I flapped. They melted instantly, and I had to move quick or share the same fate. More jets of acid fired at me, but I dodged them using the flying skills Deadfoot taught me. If he could see me, he'd be amazed.

A jet of acid nearly melted my wing. I had to get into the esophagus quick- MetalSeadramon didn't like his lunch flying around in his stomach, and the jets were relentless. After what seemed like hours, I was finally close to the hole out of there.

Without another thought, I soared back up into the esophagus. I immediately got stuck again, but not for long. "Flamethrower! Ha!" I hit the uvula again, this time with my head facing the uvula so it was a bit easier. MetalSeadramon began to cough me up, and I went flying out of his mouth.

Free at last, I slammed into a wall, covered with spit. I slid to the floor and got a look around. I was in another room. This time, the walls were still black, but there was a giant pool with MetalSeadramon in it. I'd hit a wall near a large ramp at the edge of the pool- obviously where MetalSeadramon got in and out.

"Over here, you big sea slug!" I yelled. I shot a Flamethrower in MetalSeadramon's face, but it didn't hurt him. He did feel it, though, so he spun around and saw me. I couldn't think of anything else to do but wave hello.

"How-how is that possible?" MetalSeadramon snarled. His eyes seemed to bug out of his head. "I thought I'd killed you!"

"Well, I'm still here, aren't I?" I said.

"Fine! I'll kill you, then eat you! Poseidon Divide!" MetalSeadramon lunged at me, stunning me and throwing me into the sky. MetalSeadramon opened his mouth in anticipation- and I'm pretty sure he wasn't going to swallow me whole again. I regained my senses and soared out of he way.

"Giga Ice Blast!" MetalSeadramon fired a bunch of ice bullets at me. I dodged them skillfully and melted them with Flamethrower. I began to growl at MetalSeadramon. Then, I leapt at him and shot a Flamethrower down his nose.

"YOW!" MetalSeadramon shot a jet of water out of his nose to cool the flames, blasting me into the wall and causing me to crumple to the floor.

Suddenly, I heard a low, cruel laugh. "Huh?" I lifted my head. "YOU THINK YOU'VE BEATEN ME?" came a voice. "YOU-THINK YOU'VE BEATEN-ME? I'VE GOT ANOTHER POWER, A NEW ONE! I'LL CRUSH YOU FOR THE NOSE FLAME, BUG! METALSEADRAMON DIGIVOLVE TO- GIGASEADRAMON!"

There was a bright light and a huge, stronger version of MetalSeadramon appeared. The thing was bigger than Whamon! I gulped. "Yo, GigaSeadramon," I said nervously. "What's up?"

GigaSeadramon let out a roar in response. "GIGA SEA DESTROYER!" He proceeded to fire energy torpedoes at me. "AH!" I went flying into a wall. "Flamethrower! Ha!" I shot a powerful Flamethrower at GigaSeadramon, but it simply bounced off.

"WOW, THAT HURT! NOT! SKY WAVE!" Raindrops started to fall. Little, piddly harmless raindrops! I held out my hands. "Wow. This is the powerful attack of the big scary GigaSeadramo-"

I didn't even finish my sentence- the rain sped up and before long, I was in a monsoon. "RIVER OF POWER!" GigaSeadramon used his famous attack from the MetalSeadramon stage. I went flying, but STILL did not die.

"Yo! I'm still alive! Flamebrauble!" I went into the water again. Unlike when I'd first used Flamethrower, fire shot instantly out of my hands. Maybe it was because I was better at conjuring up flame or something. The cold water heated to the temperature of bathwater. It soothed me and I floated to the surface.

Suddenly, I heard a scream. "GRAUGH!" It was GigaSeadramon! He didn't like the temperature change. "Oh, I see. Flamethrower! Ha!" I shot another Flamethrower into the water. Steam began to rise around me. The water was about 200 degrees. I became immune to hot water when I became a Halfborn, but GigaSeadramon was being scalded. Or so I thought.

"HAIL SQUEEZE!" The thing was invincible! He leapt out of the water, grabbed me around the waist and dragged me under. "IF-IF I'M GOING TO DIE, I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!" GigaSeadramon boomed. "DROWN IN THE ABYSMAL DARKNESS!"

Well, I was sure as heck drowning! My lungs were tightening up as I groped for air. GigaSeadramon's grip didn't make life better. "NOW, TO FINISH YOU OFF!" GigaSeadramon threw me into the air. I was winded, and still drowning. My head went above the surface just long enough to get some air, but I plummeted under again. I forced myself to the surface. GigaSeadramon was lunging at me, his mouth open. I aimed my hands at his gaping mouth. "FLAMETHROWER! HA!" The flames went sailing into his gullet. I heard a loud "GRAUGH!" and dove underwater so I wouldn't have to watch GigaSeadramon go up in flames. There was suddenly an explosion, and me and the hot water went sailing through a newly formed hole in the wall into another room.

I forced myself to go to the surface and saw myself in a green room straight from the jungle. There was also a platform. Hanging from the said platform was a ladder. I jumped on the ladder and climbed up. Once on the platform, I lay still to regain my bearings. "Time out. Time out," I panted. "Don't eat me. I don't taste too good..." When I was able to lift my head, it occurred to me that GigaSeadramon was no more.

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GoggleMaster01- That's it for this chapter. You can move on if you want. And remember- silent readers are bad for my mental health! R&R!


	25. Hide, Seek and Destroy, Reprise

GoggleMaster01- Here is the next Dark Master- Puppetmon! UsoPuppetmon is of my own creation- he didn't have a slide evolution like MetalSeadramon, so I made one up. You can draw him or stick him in a fanfic, but don't steal him- give me credit! (By the way, Uso is Japanese for lie, so he's the Lying Puppet monster) Enjoy Tai's next battle. (Oh yea, and DIGIMON AIN'T MINE!)

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Chapter 25

Hide, Seek and Destroy, Reprise

Satisfied with my victory, I hopped through the door and shook myself like a dog to get my hair and wings as dry as possible.

"Okay, if Base isn't destroyed, I'm playing soccer and taking a nice hot bath when I get home," I said to myself. Happy at the thought, I looked around the room. It looked like a replica of Puppetmon's house (according to T.K.'s descriptions of it), but the walls were darker and there were spiderwebs all over the place.

A Patamon shaped shadow came down the hallway. I could see on closer observation that it was Tsukaimon.

"You've actually defeated GigaSeadramon-sama. Quite splendid, actually. You've exceeded my expectations of you," Tsukaimon sneered.

"Blah blah blah, you little creep! Tell me where my friends are!" I grabbed Tsukaimon's wing and gave it an Indian rug burn.

"OW OW OW!" Tsukaimon howled in pain. "Down this hallway! You'll see the ones you want to see if you just keep going!" I let Tsukaimon go. "Thanks!" I started to run.

"Oh, but watch out," Tsukaimon hissed softly. "Puppetmon-sama is down there someplace, too."

At the end of the hallway, there was another door. I opened it and entered some kind of playroom. It was probably a darker version of Puppetmon' playroom from his previous "Housemon". There were voodoo dolls on the floor like last time, but this time, they resembled the Chosen Digimon with a black collar around their necks. There was a toybox, open and empty. And there was a TV screen. It was all fuzzy. There was no sign of Deadfoot, Lionstorm, Riverfur or Agumon.

Suddenly, I heard Agumon's voice. "Tai...Oh Tai..." I spun around. The TV screen was starting to get better reception. I walked closer to it. Agumon's face was starting to appear, but his eyes were completely red. "Join us Tai..." Agumon reached a claw OUT OF THE SCREEN and pulled me inside.

I was unconscious for a moment, or maybe a year or two. When I opened my eyes, I was in this fuzzy fog. When I looked around, I saw what appeared to be a huge window showing me the room I was just in. But, I knew that was no window- it was the TV screen!

"Hey!" I rushed over to the "window" and banged on it. "HEY!"

"What are you doing?" came a voice that sounded sort of like Gabumon's. I spun around. All eight of the Chosen Digimon (with Gatomon de-digivolved to Salamon) were standing right behind me with the same weird red eyes Agumon had.

"Are you trying to leave?" Biyomon asked. "Why would you want to leave?"

"Because I have something to do!" I yelled. "I can't stay trapped in this freaky TV set!"

The Digimon walked closer to me. "There's no reason for you to leave," Tentomon said. "Here, you will have all of your wishes granted."

"The other DigiDestined came back for us," Palmon said. "They wish to see you."

I was about to say "Really? I want to see them, too!". But, there was something up here. "Um, that's nice, but-" I began.

"Don't be shy. Poison Ivy!" Palmon grabbed me around the leg and dragged me deeper into the fuzzy fog. I couldn't see the screen anymore. After a while, Gabumon called out, "Matt, we found him!"

I looked in the direction Gabumon was calling- and my heart skipped a beat. There were seven skeletons with wigs wearing my friends' clothes! Lucky, I could barely make out the words "Made in Server" on the Izzy skeleton. They were toys, but the Digimon thought they were real!

"Great. We're all together again!" Gomamon chirped.

"Just like the good old days," Gabumon added, walking next to "Matt". "Can you play us a song to celebrate, Matt?" he asked.

This was the freakiest thing I'd ever seen in my life. "That's just a toy!" I said. But the Digimon seemed to be listening to a song, even though there was none. "Wake up!" I shot a Flamethrower at "Matt". Gabumon turned around. "Why did you do that, Tai?" he asked. "I thought you'd be happy to see them again."

"It's okay, T.K.," Patamon rubbed against "T.K.". "I'll protect you."

I remembered T.K.'s promise to protect Patamon. "What are you protecting, Patamon? Puppetmon put a spell on you!" I tried to explain.

"No he didn't! These our definately our friends, and your friends too!" Biyomon chriped.

"Get the traitor!" Salamon growled. All eight Digimon rushed at me.

There was no way I could take all eight Rookies after GigaSeadramon, especially with Agumon and the Digimon I promised T.K. I'd look after in there. There had to be some way to reverse Puppetmon's spell. I had to beat Puppetmon or-

THE VOODOO DOLLS!

That had to be it! But first, I had to get out of here! I slid out of the way and pushed "Kari" over. It hurt a little to do, but I had to get out of here. "Oh no. Kari has a fever," I said. I placed my hand to the skeleton's head. It was cold, and a shiver crawled up my spine. "Her forehead is blazing," I lied. "I need to get her some medicine. Is there any here?"

"It is impossible to get sick here," Agumon said. The eight Digimon began to charge me again.

"Well, Kari's very sensitive," I said.

"That is true," Salamon said. "But I wished that sensitivity away when I came here. I had to sacrifice my Champion form, but it was all worth it."

"She's on the floor!" I pointed "Kari" out.

"How could you push your own sister? You monster!" Salamon lunged at me, but I got out of the way. I ran back towards the screen with the other eight Digimon following me. I was confused after, having run for a long time, I didn't see the screen. I might have gone the wrong way! I went to the east.

Sure enough, I soon saw the fog clear and the screen appear. I rushed towards the screen and slammed with all my might. There was the sound of crashing glass as I fell though. I was back in reality. I spun around. The alternate dimension and the Digimon were still on the screen, but there was broken glass at my feet. I couldn't tell if the screen was still intact.

"Why would you do something like this?" Biyomon said. "Don't you want to see your friends?"

"I do!" I said, picking up Agumon's voodoo doll. Agumon promptly went up into the air. "That's why I-" I pulled the collar off of the toy's neck and gently placed it down. Agumon slowly disappeared from the "screen". "AGUMON!" He was gone. I'd killed him. No more morning roastings!

Suddenly, Agumon appeared outside of the TV. He slowly faded into view. Agumon's eyes glowed red for a split second, then faded back into green. "Tai?" he asked. "Where-where am I?"

"Agumon!" I hugged him. "I thought you were a goner. Quick! Help me take the black collars off these dolls!"

As we did our task, I explained everything to Agumon. One by one, the other Digimon came back to reality. Patamon was the last one.

"Help! T.K.!" Patamon squealed. "T.K." didn't show up. I broke the collar around the toy Patamon's neck, and he joined the other Digimon. I told them all the whole story- where I'd been, what was going on back home and what had just happened to them.

"So, Matt is really gone?" Gabumon asked.

"With the wind," I said. "But I'm sure you'll see him again."

"I can't believe you defeated GigaSeadramon all by yourself," Piyomon said.

"He he," I said, scratching the back of my head.

"So, where's Puppetm-" Gomamon began. But, he didn't have time to finish. The fuzzy TV screen suddenly flared into color and showed an image of Puppetmon in all his freakish glory.

"Oh. There he is," Gomamon said, pointing to the screen.

"Hey, Puppetmon! I've already trashed GigaSeadramon! Where are you?" I spat at the screen.

"Calm down, Halfborn," Puppetmon said. "The real question is where are YOU? Are you in my playroom? I'm going to find you, and when I find you, I'm going to KILL YOU!"

"So, it's hide-seek-and-destroy all over again, isn't it?" Patamon said. He sounded like he was about to cry. I picked up Patamon and showed him to Puppetmon. "I found the eight Chosen Digimon!" I snapped. "We can take you on!"

"Those Digimon-" Puppetmon began.

"Tai released us from your spell, Puppetmon!" Palmon said. "He- he's very good at making people come back to their senses." She blushed slightly, and I remembered my dream where I'd talked Palmon into saying goodbye to Mimi.

"So, you released them from my spell?" Puppetmon said. Then, he started squealing. "I win! I win! You're in my playroom! And you know what that means?"

The TV shut off, and a gaping hole greeted me. It seemed like the TV somehow stayed working for a short time after I broke it. The door to the playroom broke down and Puppetmon came rushing in. "Puppet Pummel!" He slammed Patamon and Salamon into the wall.

"NO!" I jumped and grabbed Patamon. I wasn't going to break my promise to T.K. Agumon, Gabumon and Biyomon attacked.

"Pepper Breath!"

"Blue Blaster!"

"Spira- OW!"

The Digimon went flying into a wall. Puppetmon hadn't even touched them. He simply flung his voodoo dolls of them into a wall. The other Digimon tried to attack with the same result. Salamon cried out "Digivolve!"

Salamon digivolved into Gatomon. (You all know how that goes, so I won't bore you with the details)

"Digivolving won't help you!" Puppetmon picked up the voodoo doll of Salamon and ate it. He then coughed up a voodoo doll of Gatomon. "Let's play, Gatomon!" Puppetmon cried, throwing her voodoo doll into the ceiling. Gatomon followed suit.

"Damn! I'm on my own here," I said. "The other Digimon can't attack because of those voodoo dolls. And if I destroy them-" I didn't want to even think about that.

Agumon began to get back up. "Pe-" he began.

"No! Let me handle him!" I said. "If you guys try to fight Puppetmon, he'll use those stupid voodoo dolls on you!" I stormed the Mega level Digimon.

"Tai! No! You'll get hurt!" Agumon cried.

"I can do this! Flamethrower! Ha!" The jet of flame caused the wooden Digimon to reel back in pain. But, it was weaker than the flame blasts I'd used against GigaSeadramon. That battle had exhausted me.

"Lie!" Puppetmon used an attack I'd never seen before. An floating popup like the one you see on computers popped up in front of him. "Flamethrower! Ha!" I shot a fireball at the popup to get rid of it, and it shot the fireball back at me. I wasn't burned, and I felt as if I recovered some strength from the blazing flames, but the sheer weight of the fireball sent me into the wall.

Popups suck, don't they?

I struggled to my feet. "You haven't won yet, Puppetmon!" I snuck behind the huge marionette. "Flamethrower!" I shot a jet of flame at Puppetmon's exposed backside. He leapt into the air, screeching loudly. Puppetmon fell on top of the floating popup and it vanished.

"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon slammed me into the floor. I was half conscious, and I could hear Puppetmon repeating the word "Lie!". He must have been creating more of those popups. I struggled to my feet. Sure enough, Puppetmon was surrounded by popups from all sides. There was no way to his him unless I got rid of the popups somehow. If they reflected my flame back at me, my claws wouldn't be a better choice, since they were weaker.

I was still thinking of what to do when I heard a booming voice. "READY TO PLAY, DIGIDESTINED BOY? PUPPETMON DIGIVOLVE TO- USOPUPPETMON!"

The popups vanished into thin air. Puppetmon had used them like a cocoon. His new form, UsoPuppetmon, was a Puppetmon made of gold instead of wood. The cross thing on his back was covered with spikes and his hammer was much bigger than before. His legs were longer too, and covered with spikes. Puppetmon's strings turned to copper, like electrical wire.

"GATLING BOMB!" UsoPuppetmon shot several huge missiles out of his hammer. I didn't feel like getting hit by those. "Flamethrower! Ha!" My Flamethrower hit the missiles and they blew up, sending everyone flying.

"NANOMECH HEAL!" UsoPuppetmon closed his eyes. He glowed with a steely light. When it faded, his dented metal body was repaired. "TIME TO PLAY! NANO BREAK!" UsoPuppetmon slammed me with his hammer. I had to do something, or I was going to die. There had to be some way to trick Puppetmon. I leaned my head. There was a soccer ball in Puppetmon's toybox.

"You-you sure like to 'play', don't you?" My shirt was soaked a blood red, and I could feel blood in my mouth.

"YES! USOPUPPETMON LOVES TO PLAY WAR!" UsoPuppetmon started jumping around like a six year old.

"Well, I have a new game to play," I said. "It's called soccer."

"WHAT?" The Digimon had no idea what I was doing.

"UsoPuppetmon, all you have to do is kick the ball into this box-" I emptied the toybox, put it on its side on the floor and showed him the ball- "- and I have to kick it out the door. We'll play for our lives. The loser will get killed by the winner. You'd like that, right? Oh, yea, and if one of uses our hands our our attacks, that person will die. We can only use our feet, okay?"

UsoPuppetmon liked that idea. "OKAY!" He put his hammer down.

"Ready-set-DIE!" I kicked the ball between UsoPuppetmon's long legs.

"HEY! I WASN'T READY!" UsoPuppetmon went to chase the ball- and, just like I expected, he tripped over his long legs and copper strings. He crashed to the floor in a tangled mess. The soccer ball rolled out the door as UsoPuppetmon rolled on the floor, getting himself even more tangled.

"CHEATER! CHEATER! I WASN'T READY! YOU CHEATED! AND SO, YOU'LL DIE! GATLING BO-" UsoPuppetmon started to attack, then realized he didn't have his hammer. I'd walked over to it and barely lifted it up while he rolled around. The hammer was cold and heavy, and I could hear voices in my head whispering dirty lies the entire time I held it.

"Your home will be destroyed and you friends have forgotten you...forgotten you...Give up, little boy. You have nothing to fight for," they hissed.

I shook my head. I wasn't sure if my home was okay, but I was sure that I still had my friends. "PUPPET PUMMEL!" I slammed the hammer down on top of UsoPuppetmon. Missiles shot out of it, blowing UsoPuppetmon into spare data. The hammer vanished too, and so did the voices.

"You have nothing left...nothing left..." the voices hissed in a last desperate attempt to lie to me.

The Digimon cheered and ran over to me. "Hooray! Hooray! You did it, Tai!"

We jumped around and did a happy dance. "Yea!" I said. "That's what happens when you mess around with the Odaibia Elementary soccer team's best striker!"

At that moment, a door on the wall behind the shattered TV opened. It was one of those automatic doors. I'd never seen it before.

"I guess that means we keep going," I said. We all walked through the door into a completely metal hallway. The slick metal walls had a few lights that blinked from time to time. Standing in the middle of the hallway, with a somewhat cute yet still evil sneer on his face, was Tsukaimon.

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GoggleMaster01- That's it for Puppetmon's chapter! Continue on or review my fic!


	26. The Infinate Chaos Dragon

GoggleMaster01- Welcome to Machinedramon's chapter! I went crazy with the font in the original wordoc and used a nice machine like font for Machinedramon's slide evolution, but you won't be able to see it because is evil and doesn't let me use fonts! UGH! Well, anyway, read on, brave adventurer! (Still don't own Digimon- if I did, this would be canon)

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Chapter 26

The Infinite Chaos Dragon

"It's another me!" Patamon ran up to Tsukaimon. Tsukaimon wiped the sneer off his face when he saw Patamon. Patamon turned his head to one side, and the other Digimon mimicked him. (*Author's Note- At the same time, Terriermon and Lopmon meet in the Tamers universe...*)

"Hm...Not as good looking as me," Tsukaimon blew Patamon off and walked up to me. "You beat GigaSeadramon-sama AND UsoPuppetmon-sama! You're half of the way to Piedmon-sama! Congratulations!" Tsukaimon did a little dance. "This is Machinedramon-sama's domain. I advise you be careful here. There are many booby traps. You'll get killed if you're careless." Tsukaimon snickered. "That might be fun to watch, actually." He walked down the hallway and disappeared from view.

"Who was he?" Gomamon asked. Patamon sniffled. "He's mean," the little mammal Digimon said.

"That guy was Tsukaimon," I explained. "He's been showing up right before I go to kick a Dark Master to the curb. I don't know what his deal is."

"He certainly likes the Dark Masters a lot," Gatomon said. (*Author's Note- The suffix -sama that Tsukaimon keeps using, for the people who don't know, is used to confer great respect.*)

We just stared down the hallway for a long time. "Well, better get going!" I said. I started to walk, but a sharp pain filled me.

"You're hurt, Tai," Agumon said. "Maybe we should rest here for a while."

"But the rest of the troop is being held captive someplace and the Dark Master's goons are wreaking havoc on the surface!" I said. "We have to keep going!"

"Tai, you can't! You'll die!" Agumon cried out.

"I don't care! I have to go!" I cried. "Now that we turned UsoPuppetmon into scrap metal, that playroom is safe. You and the other Digimon stay there. Agumon, Gatomon, if anything happens, protect Patamon for me!" I rushed down the hallway. My sharp ears picked up Gatomon's voice- "He's still as stubborn as always."- and then the Digimon disappeared from sight and earshot.

I was bored. After the two action-packed battles against the previous Dark Buttheads, walking down this peaceful hallway with its fancy blinking lights (with the occasional sit-down to rest) was a cakewalk. I kept in mind what Tsukaimon said, but I hadn't encountered any difficulty.

Eventually, I reached a huge automatic door. The word "LOCKED" flashed in red on the door's slick metal surface.

"Aw, crap!" I ran to the door. There was nowhere else to go but through this door, and it was locked! I scanned the door for some way to get inside. There was nothing but a large keypad that was very high up, probably so Machinedramon could reach. I flew up to the keypad. I just had to guess what Machinedramon's password was. As a wild guess, I slammed my weight against the large key that said, "D", believing the password was "Digimon City".

Suddenly, the lights in the hallway. flashed a bright red. "INTRUDER alert! INTRUDER alert!" A robot voice boomed through the hallway. I fell to the floor, still somehow alive.

A red light scanned the hallway. I wasn't dead from my fall, but I was stunned, so I didn't notice until it passed over me and a voice said, "INTRUDER IDENTIFIED- TAICHI KAMIYA. FIRE HALFBORN, ROOKIE LEVEL."

"Rookie?" I said, half dazed. Did Halfborns have evolutionary levels like Digimon did?

A red light shot down in front of me. It was kinda like a laser light. The light began to swirl and change form until it had turned into- A PERFECT LASER DUPLICATE OF YOURS TRUELY!

"Huh?" I cocked my head. "Hey, you're not half bad looking."

The laser duplicate slowly turned solid. His color scheme was a darker version of my own, except for his bat wings and his blood red eyes. "Dark Flamethrower!" the other Tai said in a robot voice. He shot a blast of black flame at me, sending me flying.

"Okay, if that's how it's gonna be- Flamethrower! Ha!" I shot a Flamethrower at the evil me. Evil me curled into a ball and rolled out of the way. He then leapt upon me with his claws spread wide. We began to wrestle for a bit. I nipped evil me in the leg, and he yowled. He then slashed me across the back. It wasn't enough to kill, but it hurt like hell.

"Flamethrower! Ha!" I scored a quick Flamethrower, but I got blasted with a Dark Flamethrower and was flung across the room. Evil me caught up and we began wrestling again.

"I'm warning you, evil me, I've wrestled with Takeshi when I was on a soccer team, so don't screw with me!" I said. Takeshi was a kid twice my size on my old soccer team. I was the team's best striker, but Takeshi beat me in everything else, and he also loved to beat me up and toss me in a trash can. Nice guy, huh? Wrestling with him was a kind of pre-training for my warrior life.

Evil me raked his claws through my side. It wasn't enough to kill- what was he doing? It was enough to hurt me, though. I began to slide to the floor. Maybe evil me was trying to make my pain last so I could die in agony. "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" evil me said.

"I-I've had it with you!" I attempted to slam my weight against evil me, then got an idea. I remembered how I'd beaten Agumon all those moons ago. "AH! AH! THE PAIN!" I screamed. I sucked in my breath, closed my eyes and pretended to be dead. Evil me cocked his head, then decided he'd killed me and I'd died in pain. Evil me got off of me and started to walk away.

I jumped on him and this time had the upper hand. I sliced evil me across the belly, only I meant to kill the hologram (if that was possible). "INTR...UDE...R ALE...RT! INTRUuu...!" went evil me, one last time. I suddenly collapsed to the floor. Evil me was gone. But I was exhausted. I lay on my side for a while, trying to recover my strength.

"Congratulations!" came a familiar voice. I lifted my head. Sure enough, there was Tsuakimon.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"My my, you're going to die. After going so far," Tsukaimon snickered. "I can give you the password to the door. I could also heal you. Which do you want? I'll only give you one. If it sways your decision, the Chief of Medicine is in Piedmon-sama's domain."

I struggled to stand up. I wasn't sure how long I'd last against Machinedramon, but it would be redundant if I healed- if I kept guessing the password, another evil me would show up, the process would repeat itself and eventually the evil mes would kill me. I needed the password more right now. I'd rather die against Machinedramon than silly little holograms.

"The-the password." I said, coughing up blood.

"Oh, you're trying to be a hero! How cute!" Tsukaimon did a little dance. "The password is- Infinite Chaos! Bye bye now!" Tsukaimon trotted down the hallway.

I wasn't sure if Tsukaimon was right, but he was the best lead I had at the moment. Whose side was he on?

I didn't have time think about Tsukaimon. I closed my eyes and took a short nap to recover my strength. When I woke up, I felt reenergized, but I was still wounded. I flapped my wings and soared up to the keypad. I typed in I-N-F-I-N-I-T-E-C-H-A-O-S and held my breath, afraid the red lights would flash again. Instead, there was an almost gentle "Password accepted" and the door clicked open.

The room beyond looked kind of like a control room. Gear-like Digimon scrambled everywhere. There was a huge monitor on the far wall. It blared the battle on the surface in black and white. I was horrified- warriors were being thrown aside like crash dummies and there was so much blood that it would make a vampire sick. The tree stump was being feverishly guarded, and Psystar was holding fast against the evil Digimon. He moved his mouth, but I heard nothing. And, watching the gore fest with glee, was Machinedramon.

"Hey, you deranged android!" I yelled, copying a line Joe had said to the possessed Andromon that more suited Machinedramon. "Flamethrower, ha!" I shot an angry jet of flame. Machinedramon slowly stomped around and saw the tiny bug that was me.

"Impossible," Machinedramon said. "MetalSeadramon said he was going to kill you! That fool let you get away?"

"Nope, I made him into sushi!" I said triumphantly. "And, as for Puppetmon, I took him out too. And you're next!"

"Really? You? A little bug?" Machinedramon laughed, but his laugh was more like a machine gargling and dying out than a laugh. "If those two fools didn't crush you, I will. Hagurumon! We have an intruder!"

The gear-like Digimon stopped whatever they were doing and got in an army formation, row by row. The Hagurumon then swarmed me. "Haguru Attack!" The attack hit me in the head with many small gears. But, they were weak and I found that they were pretty much effectless.

"Flamethrower! Ha!" I sent the Digimon flying. They were like little frisbees, and I sent them flying with my Flamethrower.

"Darkness Gear!" The still standing Hagurumon still standing shot Black Gears at me. I destroyed the gears with my Flamethower, then went for the kill. I slammed my weight against a Hagurumon, and he knocked down the ones behind him like dominoes. The rest I finished off with Flamethrower.

Machinedramon was shocked that I'd made scrap metal out of his army of wimps. "Okay, Machinedramon, it's your turn!" I cried, leaping at him. Machinedramon simply swatted me away like I was a fly.

"There is a slight chance you might win," Machinedramon said. "You are quite powerful. But we machines need things to be accurate 100% of the way! To eliminate any chance of defeat, I must upgrade." He then opened his mouth and created a vacuum force. I dug my claws into the floor to avoid getting sucked in, but I saw he wasn't trying to eat me. He was eating his own henchmen! The defeated Hagurumon went sailing right into Machinedramon.

"THE CHANCES OF YOUR DEFEAT ARE NOW APPROXIMATELY 100%! MACHINEDRAMON DIGIVOLVE TO- CHAOSDRAMON!"

In Machinedramon's place was a Machinedramon covered in red chrome Digizoid. Some parts of his body were covered in a laser-like grid.

"DIE, BUG! GIGA CANNON!" Chaosdramon used that loveable attack that separated me from Kari the last time I fought him. WHAM! I sailed right into the wall. I struggled to my feet. I jumped to scratch him, but not only did I fail to do that, but my claws broke.

"FOOL! MERE CLAWS CAN DO NOTHING AGAINST DIGIZOID! DRAGON FIRE!" Chaosdramon pelted me with a fire blast. The fire was actually warming. I felt my wounds heal. Now that I was a being of fire, fire healed me instead of killed me. Chaosdramon didn't expect to see that. "IMPOSSIBLE! BOOSTER CLAW!" He rushed at me and sent me flying into the ceiling. I had to think of something before I fell- the ceiling was high up and I'd definitely die if I fell now. I got an idea. I spread my wings and let go of the ceiling. I attempted to fly, but the room had no wind, so it was all wing power. I found it a little harder to do without wind, and I felt like I was devoting all my power to flying.

"GIGA CANNON! GIGA CANNON!" Chaosdramon shot energy blasts at me. I dodged the first one and got slammed by the second one. I was about to crash and die, but I turned my head and saw the bloody battle between Base and the Dark Master's goons. I don't know if I would have survived if I didn't see a Tokomon sinking his fangs into a Mushroomon, then being flung into a tree and laying there, almost dead. If I killed the Dark Masters, I could deal with these goons, or maybe they'd retreat. I had to go back up there-

I flew up with all my power. I felt weak and winded. I had to restore my power. "Flamethrower- on myself!" I shot the flames at my own body, and was rewarded with a quick shot of energy. I shot another Flamethrower, this time at Chaosdramon. It bounced off his Digizoid body, but I could see it had slightly singed him.

"DIE ALEADY! YOU'RE GETTING ON MY NERVES, BUG! CHAOS CRUSHER!" A huge laser beam came out of Chaosdramon's mouth. I went sailing through the air. There had to be some way to defeat Chaosdram-

Of course. There, on the back of the machine Digimon's neck, was a button that had the Japanese characters for OFF written beneath it.

"Oh, lame!" I said. I didn't want to win by pressing that button (that only happens in lame adventure movies), but I had no choice- my claws were out of the question and fire did next to nothing. I sailed at the back of Chaosdramon's neck-

"BOOSTER CLAW!" Chaosdramon was a little harder to beat than that. He slammed me into the wall with his claw and held fast. I had to get out, and I wasn't going to bite him and break my teeth. I turned my head to the screen. Psystar was beginning to fall and turn to data.

"NO! PSYSTAR!" I screamed.

"THE ALAKAZAM IS DONE FOR! AND SO ARE YOU! HYPER INFINITY CANNON!" Chaosdramon began to prepare the final blow. He was pumping some kind of gas into the huge blasters on his back.

I couldn't die. Not here. Not watching Psystar die. He was my second father. I'd never be able to live with myself if my last thought was that Psystar was going to die and I couldn't save him. I felt my eyes burn and my body heat up. "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S DONE FOR!" I screamed desperately. It felt like I was on fire, and Chaosdramon was crushing me with his claw. If that Hyper Infinity Cannon finished charging, I was dead.

But, I was suddenly falling. I looked up. Chaosdramon's hand was singed worse than when I had used Flamethrower. Was this some new attack? I felt my body cooling down back to its normal temperature.

Had I set myself on fire?

Chaosdramon's cannons, which were flat on his back, suddenly sprang up and took aim. I forced my wings to flap and I soared behind the great beast's head. The off button was in my sight.

"FLAMETHROWER!" I shot a blast of flame at the off button. Chaosdramon's cannons snapped to his back. "NO! YOU-YOU...LIT...TLE...B...U...G...THANK YOU FOR USING CHAOSDRAMON. BYE BYE NOW." Chaosdramon's glowing yellow eyes turned dark.

With the off button burnt off, I don't think Chaosdramon was going to be attacking again anytime soon. I'd actually lived against three of the Dark Masters.

Suddenly, Choasdramon's eyes lit up red. "DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, YOUR CHAOSDRAMON WILL NOW SELF-DESTRUCT. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE. BYE BYE NOW." went a robotic voice.

It was Chaosdramon's attack from beyond the grave! There was no countdown like in those movies. He just went up in smoke. I was flung by the full force of the explosion through the floor. I forced myself to look up at the screen.

Psystar had disappeared.

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GoggleMaster01- If you don't like the fic (which shouldn't happen if you bothered to read this far), then stop reading. But please review so I know you read. Thanks. Reviews are all I ask. (Reviews are love...)


	27. The Truth About Tsukaimon

GoggleMaster01- This isn't Piedmon's chapter (surprise!). Here, we find out some shocking secrets about Tsukaimon. Tai might be a bit OCC and angsty in this chapter, but it's justified because Piedmon manipulated his fear of failure from canon. Plus, he gets over it. Spoilers aside, read on, but don't say I didn't warn you. Digimon isn't mine, people. If it was, I'd have a life.

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Chapter 27

The Truth About Tsukaimon

I don't know exactly when I opened my eyes in a pitch black room with a single light hanging from the ceiling and thanked Team StarClan for keeping me alive through three Dark Masters. Then, the sight of Psystar's death came to me, and I felt my hair droop. My hair can actually display my emotions- when it gets droopy, I'm depressed about something. I felt useless- I couldn't save Psystar. I'd failed.

Suddenly, the floor caved out from under me, and I was falling through blackness. I spread my wings, which acted as a parachute. I remembered my nightmare- the voices, the gallows, Piedmon. Only this time, it was real.

I also remembered what I'd told myself. "No matter what, if I fail, I can get up again!" I screamed.

"Oh, really?" Piedmon's voice hissed in my ear. "Clown Trick!" And suddenly, I heard my mother's voice.

"You killed her, Tai! How could you do that?" And sobs filled the empty space. It suddenly snapped in my head why I hated failure so much- it all goes back to when I nearly killed Kari, the first time I'd ever tasted failure- failure to protect her. Piedmon must have somehow found that memory and was using it against me in this dark place. But why?

"Do you want me to give up, Piedmon?" I yelled. "I already got past the first three Dark Masters, and I can kick your butt too!"

"Tai..." It was Kari's voice. "...I'm sorry I couldn't kick the ball very good. You probably never want to play with me again..." And then my own sobs filled the freefall.

I bit my lip. He was trying to fill me with these bad memories. I could feel them filling my heart and weighing me down.

"Kari..." I felt tears burn in my eyes.

"She blamed herself, but you know as well as I do it's not in her nature to say anything cruel," Piedmon hissed in my ear. "Who knows? She could be harboring hatred for you for the incident."

"Get out of my head!" I snapped. I felt my wings begin to close. What if Piedmon was right? If he was, I'd have failed Kari.

"And what about SkullGreymon?" Piedmon went on. "It nearly killed your friends. How do you know if they really hate you? They wouldn't say it to the leader that they needed. They probably forgot you, Hero of Flame."

Piedmon was pushing his luck here. "I see them in my dreams. They haven't forgotten me!" I snapped.

"And that's all they are. Dreams..." Piedmon hissed. "Dreams...dreams...they left you alone. And there will be no home for you to return to even if you do kill me. My minions took care of that. By the way, did you know I made scraps out of the entire resistance? And what about Patamon? You promised T.K. you'd take care of him. Well, what if my Vilemon are ripping him to pieces right now? You don't know that, do you?"

"Ge-Get out of my head!" I repeated. Piedmon was taking advantage of every failure I'd ever had and was throwing it in my face. My wings lay flat on my back, and I plummeted. Now that he put it that way, I'd failed Base and possibly failed T.K. too. And, I'd hadn't had the dreams lately. Maybe they did forget...

"You win, Piedmon! Take me!" I cried. "A failure like me shouldn't live!"

"How long have I waited for this moment. Trump Sword!" I heard his four swords whistle at me. This was it. I was done for. I was going to either be skewered or fall to my death. Either was a fitting ending for the fool I'd been.

Suddenly, I heard Tsukaimon's voice. "Leave him be! He's proven himself by killing the others, Piedmon! He is the true Hero of Flame!"

"Tsukaimon- no, you can't be!"

"You bet I am! Tsuakaimon digivolve into- BlackGatomon!"

I closed my eyes and fell into darkness, but I could still hear, but only barely, over my pounding thoughts and rendezvous with all my failures. The swords clinked against something, and I heard a catlike yowl. Had BlackGatomon protected me?

"If you are then- hey, aren't you a guy?" Piedmon asked.

"With Tsukaimon's voice, I could really be anything, right?" BlackGatomon purred.

Wait, Tsukaimon was a SHE the whole time?

"The Hero of Flame will not die! BlackGatomon digivolve to- LadyDevimon!" the purring voice cried out.

LadyDevimon? THE LadyDevimon? Piedmon's bodyguard LadyDevimon?

"Now, Piedmon, feel my wrath! Darkness Wave!" Nothing happened to me, but I heard Piedmon scream.

"That's for my sister!" LadyDevimon said.

"Now now, LadyDevimon, I was only borrowing her for a little while..." Piedmon began.

"What? What happened?" I began to wake up a little. I stopped falling- it felt like someone was holding me.

"It was two years ago when I met Piedmon," LadyDevimon explained. "Me and my sister were both BlackGatomon when we met Piedmon. We were very poor Digimon and Piedmon offered to feed us. Of course, we were starving and jumped on the chance. Piedmon gave us some meat, then indicted us into his army.

"We worked for Piedmon for about a year, having no clue what he was doing or what he wanted. We didn't know he wanted to kill the DigiDestined and take over DigiWorld. Eventually, we saw the damage Piedmon was doing when he killed a bunch of other BlackGatomon who refused to follow his orders. We worked as double agents and found out what he wanted. Me and my sister confronted Piedmon and evolved into LadyDevimon. But, Piedmon took control of my sister, and he de-digivolved me into Pagumon and banished me to a faraway place.

"I digivolved into Tsukaimon and was released when you killed Piedmon the first time. I was so unrecognizable that I was able to slip in as a double agent. I found out that my sister was dead, and that Piedmon had killed her."

"Then, all that Piedmon-sama bullcrap-" I half muttered.

"Completely fake," Lady Devimon explained. "My whole Dark Master-sama act was a simple facade. Even what I said before you fought Machinedramon about wanting to see you dead was to keep cover. I had to blow my cover now, or Piedmon might have taken you-"

"Trump Sword!" I was sent hurtling through space, still in LadyDevimon's arms. Man, what if she knew we killed the other LadyDevimon? I'd drop like a rock!

"It isn't my fault your sister is dead," Piedmon said. "The DigiDestined destroyed her!"

Damn. Stupid mind reader.

LadyDevimon gasped, and I thought I was going down. Good. I was a failure who was waiting for the end. "He's right. In fact, my sister's Digimon killed her," I said. "So drop me so I don't hurt anyone else or fail anymore."

"They may have, but you still took control of her and killed the other BlackGatomon," LadyDevimon said. "And if you never took control of her, she wouldn't have had to die! Evil Wing!" She slammed Piedmon with her bat-like things.

"Trump Sword!" LadyDevimon screamed in pain, and we began to fall. "LADYDEVIMON!" I screamed. I could die, sure, but not LadyDevimon. She tried to save me, and she also gave me the password to infiltrate Machinedramon's room.

"Tai, destroy Piedmon for me," LadyDevimon said softly. "LADYDEVIMON DIGIVOLVE TO- LILITHMON!"

I couldn't see Lilithmon, but I did hear her cry "Dark Radiant Flower!". My skin started to itch. I craned my neck and saw some black things begin to grow out of my arms and legs. I screamed.

"It won't hurt. Dark Radiant Flower will dissolve Piedmon's Clown Trick," Lilithmon said. "but it's a mainly good move, and it takes a lot of power for me to use that kind of move. It will kill me to use. That's why I need you to destroy Piedmon for me."

"LILITHMON! NO! Don't waste your life on me!" I cried. Why was she doing this? I was a failure. She could just drop me and beat up Piedmon herself.

"My power is equal to Piedmon's," Lilithmon whispered. "We'd end up fighting forever. But you, you are strong enough to defeat him. I know you are. Now go...Hero of...Flame. Avenge...my sister...You're the only one who can..." Her data began to swirl around me.

"But how can I avenge your sister if I can barely protect my own?" I asked.

"Piedmon...is taking advantage...of your...fear...your fear...of failure...What you feel now...is not...real...Your sister...loves you...just...as...mine...loved...me..."

The last of Lilithmon's data vanished, and I was falling again. The black things sprouted into flowers and sprayed a purple powder. Time seemed to slow down, and I don't remember what happened well. All I remember was screaming "LILITHMON!", then feeling my failures melting, one by one, as if they'd never happened, and a jolt of fresh energy filling my body.

The flowers suddenly burst into dust and fell off of me. I shook my head, then looked down. Still falling. I flapped my wings and stopped in midair. I then began to fly down, towards wherever Piedmon was at the bottom. That thing about the rest of the troop being dead had to be baloney, and they were probably down there waiting for me.

Right?

I saw a rock floor heading up at me. "I can do this, I can land," I mumbled. Going SPLAT would surely mean death. I spread my wings, slowed my speed and descended down to the floor. My hands and feet scraped rock, and I forced myself to stay upright. I blinked a few times, then realized I'd just landed without smashing, crashing or bruising my face.

"YES! I DID IT!" I started jumping around. "Don't worry, Lilithmon, your death won't be in vain!"

With that done, I looked around. I was in a place that looked just like Spiral Mountain. Piedmon was standing on the same rock he was on before.

"So, you did make it, after all," Piedmon sneered.

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GoggleMaster01- Piedmon's chapter is up next, folks, so review this one or move on to the penultimate showdown. Penultimate? Oh, I'm not going to stop at Piedmon...


	28. Piedmon's Final Jest

GoggleMaster01- This is the last chapter for the day- Piedmon's chapter. Tai squares off in the final but not really final showdown. And about Tsuakimon becoming BlackGatomon- I checked her digivolution line on the DMA Digidex. Her default Champion form is Devidramon, but I didn't like that, and chose her alternate evolution of BlackGatomon, who is usually female, so I had to change the gender to suit. (She was originally going to stay male) So that's that story. Read on! (Still wishing I owned Digimans...)

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Chapter 28

Piedmon's Final Jest

**I** growled at Piedmon. "So, you thought you had me back there, didn't you," I snarled.

"If Lilithmon didn't get in the way, you'd be mine, Hero of Flame," Piedmon monologued. "But, sadly, her sacrifice will be in vain. For I will destroy you right here! Trump Sword!" Piedmon threw his swords at me. I nimbly dodged every one of the swords. The Dark Radiant Flower had restored all of my energy. It was as if Lilithmon was still alive inside me.

"This is for Lilithmon, Psystar and all of my friends! Flamethrower!" I formed a flame jet and shot it at Piedmon. It did a whopping amount of damage- and by whopping I mean none at all!

"Psystar? That old bat? He's still alive?" Piedmon threw another set of four swords at me, and I ran. If just one sword hit me, I was dead.

"Yea, he's still alive," I said. I remembered what I saw in Chaosdramon's room. "And YOUR TROOPS KILLED HIM!" My body felt hot again, just like it had in my fight with Chaosdramon. This time, I looked down at my hand. To my horror, it was on fire!

But, the fire didn't hurt. I'd somehow set myself on fire. But why was I doing that?

"Ah, so you are using your Rage technique," Piedmon sneered. "It won't be enough to save you! Ending Snipe!" Piedmon threw many Trump Sword swords at me- not just four, but hundreds! There was no way I could dodge them all. I had to attack Piedmon directly now, and as fast as possible.

Still on fire, I ran at Piedmon and slammed him with all my might. At the same time, a Trump Sword pierced my wing. The thing dispelled the fire and sent a bolt of sharp pain all the way down my back. I did the only thing I could- scream like a schoolgirl! My hand fell upon the spot where I was hit, and I felt it grow wet.

"That-that hurt! Flamethrower!" I used my free hand to slam Piedmon. He went flying off his rock.

"DigiDestined..." Piedmon muttered, half to himself. It seemed like I had him. That was weird- I thought he was harder last time.

"...You...you don't understand..." Piedmon gasped. "Apocalymon...created me...I owed him my life to do his bidding...He taught me...everything...**I WILL NOT DIE AND LET YOU DESTROY MY FATHER! PIEDMON DIGIVOLVE TO- PIEDMON SHADOW LORD!**"

Piedmon grew in size and became so big that I was barely as big as his pinky finger. He became covered in red and black armor. In addition to his usual four sword, Piedmon Shadow Lord now had a sword in each hand that could probably turn me into chop meat. His fingers were now clawed and his hair became longer and wilder. Bat wings erupted from his back. I rubbed my own feathery wings in pain.

"**ENDING SPELL!**" Piedmon Shadow Lord formed a bright white orb in his outstretched hands and flung it at me. I slammed into a wall, then struggled to my feet and leapt at the beast's unarmored head. I made a move to scratch, then remembered my broken claws. I stuck the chunky broken edges into Piedmon, and they did nothing.

"**WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, POKE ME? ENDING SNIPE!**" Piedmon Shadow Lord used the move where he brought a million Trump Swords to the table again. Each sword was ten times my size. I burrowed in Piedmon's hair and hid from them.

"**HUH? I CAN'T FIND THE LITTLE MAGGOT!**" Piedmon Shadow Lord had no clue I was burrowed in his hair. Suddenly, I was violently shaken to side to side. Piedmon Shadow Lord was turning his head violently, looking for me. I burrowed my hands in the greasy hair and hung on literally for dear life.

I had no clue how long I was there. I thought of Psystar, Lilithmon, Agumon and my fellow DigiDestined. I didn't want to stay in some freakish clown's hair forever. I wanted to defeat him in honor of everyone who died and to protect everyone who was still alive.

"**HMM...WHERE COULD HE BE?**" A huge clawed hand began to run through Piedmon Shadow Lord's hair. If that got me, Piedmon Shadow Lord would end up finding me maimed on one of his fingers.

Now I knew how fleas felt.

I tried to run, but found my hands tangled in Piedmon Shadow Lord's hair. "Augh! C'mon!" I pulled at the hair with my teeth. It tasted like Numemon ammo, so I spit it out. The clawed hand was coming-

-and I slipped between Piedmon Shadow Lord's index and middle fingers and was now under the palm in complete darkness. I let out a sigh of relief. "**THERE YOU ARE!**" boomed a voice. I was suddenly grabbed and hoisted out of Piedmon Shadow Lord's hair. The hand began to close in on me, blocking out all air and light. "**YOU'RE MINE, HERO OF FLAME!**" Piedmon Shadow Lord boomed. "**I'LL CRUSH YOU!**" There was no way out, and my face was probably turning purple. I was going to die. "I'm sorry, Psystar, I'm so- GASP!"

"Lighting Paw!" I heard Gatomon's muffled voice. The hand opened, and air rushed into my lungs. I spread my wings and soared around to see where Gatomon was. There she was, repeatedly slashing Piedmon Shadow Lord's exposed hand. "GATOMON! I told you and Agumon to protect Patamon!" I yelled.

"Well, we just knew you were going to get in trouble, so as soon as you were out of earshot we decided to follow you," Gatomon explained. I looked at the ground. Sure enough, the other Chosen Digimon were firing rounds of attacks at Piedmon Shadow Lord's legs.

Piedmon Shadow Lord swiped his hand, knocking Gatomon to the floor. "Marching Fishes!" Gomamon's fish friends came flying at Piedmon Shadow Lord, who simply opened his mouth and swallowed them. "My...my fishes..." Gomamon sounded like he was about to cry.

"Hey! Gomamon was friends with those fish! Flamethrower!" I shot a Flamethrower at Piedmon Shadow Lord's head.

"**YOU THINK YOU HAVE ME? YOU THINK YOU'VE WON? WELL, YOU ARE MISTAKEN! COMPLETE DARKNESS!**" Piedmon Shadow Lord began to dissolve.

"You're giving up?" I was confused. "You-you're seriously-"

"**THIS ATTACK TURNS MY BODY INTO **VIRUS DATA THAT DELETES ALL IT TOUCHES. You will be dissolved into nothingness, DigiDestined, and...so will your Digimon friends...I...will...not...let...you...kill...my...father...agai..."

Piedmon Shadow Lord melted into a black cloud of data that began to glow a faint red color. "Well, my father Psystar was important to me too, and I'll avenge him!" I cried.

The data cloud flew at me. "AHH!" I screamed like a schoolgirl (twice in one day!) and flew for my life. Piedmon's data split into two clouds, one of which barreled to the floor. The Digimon scrambled to avoid it. I hid behind a rock- but Piedmon's attack from beyond the grave swallowed it up, sending me running.

"Help! Gatomon!" I cried.

"Why me?" Gatomon asked as she barreled away from Piedmon's Complete Darkness.

"Well, you're a Champion Digimon-" I began.

"I'm not strong enough to get rid of this mess, though!" Gatomon replied. "Maybe if I was Angewomon..."

"But you can't digivolve without Kari!" I yelled back. I soared around for an exit. Maybe we could get away through it. But, all I could see was an endless stream of rock. There was no way out. The only thing I could think of was attacking the data.

"Flamethrower! Ha!" I shot a Flamethrower at the data. The cloud shook like jello, but regained its speed and deadly intentions almost immediately.

Agumon saw what I was trying to pull. "Let's try attacking it! Pepper Breath!" Agumon shot a fire jet at the data with the same results.

"Blue Blaster!"

"Spiral Twister!"

"Boom Bubble! Pa!"

"Super Shocker!"

"Marching Fishes!"

"Pepper Breath! Ha!"

Everyone with a long range attack attacked at once. The two close range Digimon were simply standing their ground in defense mode- if they touched the data, they were goners. Even with this combined attack, the data didn't quit.

Suddenly, part of the data cloud grabbed Patamon. It began to wrap around him and he screamed.

"No! Patamon!" Gatomon cried. The Digimon couldn't move- if they did anything, they would get deleted, but Patamon would be deleted if no one did something! I remembered my promise to T.K., the promise I made on the day he left.

"I'll take care of Patamon!" I cried. I swooped right into the center of the data cloud pursuing the Digimon. A sharp stinging pain filled my body, and it felt like I was being taken apart. I grabbed Patamon and threw him to safety. But I couldn't get out! All I could see was a sea of pulsing red and black.

The first data cloud (the one that was on my tail) merged with the one I was in and the pain became more intense. I could barely hear myself think. Suddenly, I felt myself explode. It didn't feel nearly as bad as I thought, death. I sank into death's hands, afraid of what might happen to the Digimon. Maybe since Piedmon had taken my life, he'd dissolve his data. If so, I'd saved the DigiWorld from his treachery.

At least it was a noble death...

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GoggleMaster01- (sobbing) P-Poor Tai-Tai-kun! WHA! Oh, sorry, it ended. Oh, yea, I decided to be evil and throw you a cliffhanger! Review my fic, and remember, it's not over yet! (Hint- Think Dragonball. What happens when Goku dies? You don't think I was going to permanently kill of my favorite, would you? Spoilers end here.)


	29. Apocalymon Appears

GoggleMaster01- This is it! We're almost at the end! (does carameldansen) Man, this story is long as hell. And I'm planning sequels. I have no sanity.

So, enjoy this second-to-last chapter of the fic! And I still don't own Digimon, even after all these millenia.

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Chapter 29

Apocalymon Appears

**I** was unconscious for what felt like forever. When I opened my eyes, I was in that starry place I was in when I first gained my powers. I searched for the brightest star, which was Starstar's. When I found it, I was surprised to see it coming towards me. I watched until Starstar began to take her pixie-like form. Then, she became too bright, and I shielded my eyes.

"Tai," I heard Starstar say softly. She'd remembered I hated my real name. "Every Pokemon, Digimon and Halfborn has a special gift, a gift they can only use when they come to Team StarClan. Some gifts allow them to catch even the fastest prey. Other gifts allow them to enter the dreams of the living. And then, there's your gift, the rare Celestial Life."

"Celestial-Life?" I asked, eyes still covered.

"Yes. It allows you to come back to life, but only one time," Starstar explained. "All of the DigiDestined have it as a failsafe. Psystar has it too."

This was the first I was hearing of something like this. Not only was I not dead, but Psystar wasn't dead either. "So, that means-" I began.

"Psystar has come back to life as well," Starstar said. "But you cannot return just yet. You must wait for your body to recover."

"My body got blown to bits!" I pointed out.

"I can make it come back, but it will take a long time," Starstar said.

"How long?" I asked.

"I can't be sure-" Starstar began.

"I need to get back there now!" I yelled. "I can't stay here for years!" I tried to grab Starstar and beg her to send me back, but the bright light shining from her body caused me to shield my eyes again.

"Remember, Tai, the stars are always with you..." Starstar said. Her voice was becoming faint.

"Starstar! Hey! Wait!" I cried. The bright light began to dim, and I was alone in a mass of twinkling stars. And I was alone there for what felt like months or even years.

Suddenly, I began to glow with an orange light. I couldn't move- I couldn't even blink. I was pertrified- how long would I have to stay like this when the Digimon were still fighting and maybe dying? I could have been there for years, but I eventually felt like I was melting and being poured through a funnel. There was a pop and I blacked out.

* * *

"Halfborn. So that's where you went."

Lionstorm's annoyed tone was the first thing I heard when I woke up. I stretched my wings and yawned, unable to remember what happened clearly. I remember going to Team StarClan, seeing Starstar and learning about the Celestial Life, but after that, it was just a big mush. I couldn't tell you what happened while I sat there if I wanted to.

Me and Lionstorm were in a black void. Digital code, 1s and 0s, flew by our heads in streaks of green. "Where-where ware we?" I asked.

"Final Destination," Lionstorm growled. "This is where Apocalymon lives."

APOCALYMON! I totally forgot about him! I then noticed the Chosen Digimon weren't there. "Hey, where's Agumon and the others?" I yelled.

"All of them are struggling against Apocalymon," Lionsnot explained. "Saw the pathetic things as I raced by."

"And where were you, Mr. High and Mighty?" I asked, annoyed that he called my friends pathetic.

"Well, Apocalymon had us in his dungeon, then brought us here and destroyed Deadfoot and Riverfur personally. Naturally, I ran, being faster than them. Then the Digimon showed up. I caught a quick glimpse as I sped off. I don't think those toothpicks will last long against that-"

"IDIOT!" I swiped my broken claws against Lionstorm's face and grabbed him by the collar. "Your comrades were being killed, then you saw eight Rookies charge a Mega and you just RAN? You coward!"

"My my, you're pretty foolish to be attacking a full-grown warrior," Lionstorm purred.

"The only foolish one here is you, Stubbytail," I hissed. "You could have done something to help them, but you didn't! Coward!" I dropped him, then ran off into the black void, searching for Apocalymon. "And for your information-" I yelled over my shoulder, "-I destroyed THREE of the Dark Masters! Who's foolish now?"

* * *

Apparently, me.

I forgot to ask where Apocalymon was, so I was wandering through a black void that looked all the same in every direction. I had no idea where Apocalymon was and I'd been searching for maybe a half hour-an hour tops. I'd lost track of time. Apocalymon had probably roasted the Digimon by now, but my promise to TK and my desire to save Base propelled me onwards.

Eventually, I saw a streak of flame. "Pepper Breath! Ha!" It was Agumon! He was still alive! I heard other attack names too- Spiral Twister, Blue Blaster, Lightning Paw and, to my relief, Boom Bubble.

And then I heard, "Crimson Lightning!" But it wasn't Myotismon. It was Apocalymon! A mixed variety of screams filled the air and I rushed towards them.

The eight Digimon were on the floor, knocked cold. And, towering above them, was the Big Bad, Apocalymon.

"Hey! Leave those Digimon alone, you big bully!" I cried. Apocalymon saw me, a little tiny speck compared to his massive bulk. "What's this? Another gnat to irritate me?" he asked. His voice sent a series of sharp shivers down my spine, but I didn't run away like that 'fraidy cat Lionstorm. (*Author's Note- For the people who don't know, Lionstorm is supposed to be a Luxray, his tail was just cut off in a battle*)

"It's me! The Hero of Flame! I'm gonna kick your butt!" I yelled.

Apocalymon stared at me. "Concert Crusher!" He slammed me into the floor next to Agumon. Agumon's eyes were closed.

"Agumon..." I shook him and tried to wake him up.

Agumon opened his eyes halfway. "Tai...You're alive..." he said. His voice was faint.

It had taken all eight of our fully evolved Digimon to defeat Apocalymon before, but now, with only little old me and eight Rookies, it was hopeless. But, that didn't mean I'd give up. Even in a pinch like this, I wouldn't give up on my friends.

I forced myself to my feet. "Hey, Apocalymon," I said weakly. That single attack drained almost all my power. "I am the DigiDestined of Courage, the Hero of Flame. And I won't lose to you."

"So, you're a DigiDestined?" Apocalymon picked me up by the scruff and examined me. His claws were starting to pierce my collarbone. One little twitch, and he'd snap my head off. "Oh, now I remember you! The human boy with the silly haircut! Your Digimon was that poor Rookie if I remember correctly!" Apocalymon pointed to Agumon.

"Yeah," I said. "What of it?"

"Well, I was just wondering where that big fancy WarGreymon was, HALFBORN?" Apocalymon began to crush my collarbone. I had no choice- I had to find out how to set myself on fire and use Rage to see if Apocalymon would drop me. But how could I? Well, the attack was called Rage. Maybe if I got mad. Mad at Apocalymon for hurting my Digimon friends and killing my mentors. Mad at Lionsnot for turning his back. Mad at Sesshoku for using my home and my family and killing millions of innocent Digimon to get what he wanted...

There was a whoosh and Apocalymon dropped me like a hot potato. I spread my wings and began to soar at him. I tried to slam him with my flames but did no damage. Instead, I crashed the floor. My head was spinning, but I didn't care. I had to take down this tyrant. For the Digimon, my family, my friends.

For everybody.

A dragon's roar erupted from my throat- a roar of rage, of sorrow, of loneliness, of derfunklishness. But also a victory roar of some kind. It was every emotion that I'd ever felt and held inside me and every emotion my friends and family felt. After the initial shock of the loud roar coming out of me, I noticed I was also belching flames. But these were bigger than my Flamethrower flames. They were also a bright blue.

"No. Not those! The Flames of Courage! There is only one way to stop them- TOTAL ANNIHILATION!"

Apocalymon pulled into his big sphere-like shell and began to spin really fast. If he succeeded, he'd annihilate everything- even my friends and family back home! I thought about all my loved ones, all my friends- Mom and Dad, Agumon and the other Chosen Digimon, Lilithmon, Psystar, Joe, Mimi, TK, Izzy, Sora, Matt. With each person's name, the flames burned bigger, brighter and hotter.

I more of screamed Kari's name than thought it- she was my little sister, the one who I had to protect the most. Even though I couldn't protect her from jerks like Davis, I could still protect her from Apocalymon.

And I could protect everyone else too.

There was a huge explosion, and I couldn't tell if it was from me or Apocalymon. My mouth closed, the blue flames died, and I sank into unconsciousness.

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GoggleMaster01- What do you think of the near finished story? Like it? Hate it? Too many cliffhangers? Let me know- REVIEW!


	30. I Am Tai

GoggleMaster01- OMG, the end of this story iz here nd i'm so excitd i forgot proper grammer nd m using text talk! (reverts back to proper grammar) Anyway, I didn't count on finishing this chapter today, and I'm SO EXCITED that the story ended after almost a year of plugging at keys! It was so worth it. Thanks for reading (even you, people in Quatar) and I hope to get Part II up soon. And I still don't own Digimon.

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Chapter 30

I Am Tai

**I**t wasn't Apocalymon.

I woke up on a moss bed, surrounded by other moss beds with wounded warriors on them. Agumon was next to me. "Tai! You're alive!" he chirped. He had a bandage woven around his forehead. "We're in the medicine den, or, well, what's left of it. The whole south wall is missing. You destroyed Apocalymon and saved everybody! Around that time, his forces turned tail and left our borders."

"That-That's great." I sunk into my moss bed. Moss had never felt so cozy. I sunk back into sleep. (Lazy ol' me...)

I woke up to see most of the beds empty and mons working to restore the busted south wall, which had blasted a hole further underground. A huge hole in the rock was being filled in by smaller rocks. Kuwagamon, the same one from the day I joined Base, waved at me as he ran back with tons of rocks in his pincers.

Agumon wasn't there. He was probably helping clean the Dark Losers's mess. I struggled to my feet and toddled out to look for him.

Pokemon Square was a mess! Shops were destroyed and the clock tower's clock had a huge hold blown in it. Everyone was running around putting Base back together. Beneath the clock tower, Redtail was organizing the cleanup. He was spouting flame at some Pagumon who obviously weren't doing what they were supposed to. A yellow shape ran out of the crowd and ran up to Redtail.

"Psystar!" I temporarily forgot all about Agumon and ran towards my mentor, my father. He had the Celestial Life too, so he was alive! Alive! I was so happy!

Psystar put Redtail to sleep with his spoon just as I jumped on him. "Psystar! You're okay!" I laughed. A tear of happiness rolled down my cheek.

"So are you, Tai," Psystar replied. "I thought I'd never see you again. And when the army attacked, I thought I'd never see Base again. Lucky that some warriors found you and the Chosen Digimon when they went to get more stone from Freefall Cliff. Lionstorm returned and said that he saw a huge explosion and thought it was Apocalymon's Total Annihilation until he realized he was still in existence, then he ran back here and reported everything. We decided to go gather some stone from down there, and sure enough, there you were, crammed between the floor and a rock. The Digimon confirmed Lionstorm's story. Everyone thought you were dead."

"Well, I'm definitely alive and kicking!" I laughed. It occurred to me that I could now survive pretty much anything- being crushed, squeezed, suffocated, eaten and even exploded today and all! "Hey- why didn't Lionstorm try to find me?"

"He didn't want to 'waste his time looking for a Halfborn'," Psystar explained. I nodded in reply. Good old Lionstorm.

"Now, any apprentice who defeated three Dark Masters and Apocalymon deserves this." Psystar turned to yell at the crowd. "Everyone! Stop what you're doing! I have an announcement!"

The large group of worker bees stopped and turned our way. I saw Agumon- he has some sticks and stones in his paw/claw things. Patamon was on his head. I could make out bits and pieces of the other Chosen Digimon too. Gatomon was up in the front row- but the whistle Kari gave her was missing! She must have lost it in that last battle! Maybe she didn't notice. I felt kind of bad and didn't want to say anything.

"Up here next to me is a very brave and valiant apprentice," Psystar began. "You remember when he first came here. He wasn't welcomed very nicely at all. However, as time went by, he proved himself time and time again. And now, he has saved not one, but two worlds. A feat like that deserves a promotion."

Psystar placed his hands on my head. "Taichi, you have proved yourself to your warrior ancestors. We welcome you to join us as a full-grown warrior. May you serve Base well."

I kind of couldn't believe what I was hearing. After the moons of hard work, I'd finally become a warrior! Talk about a huge one up on Bronzepaw!

Speaking of Bumpaw, his squeaky, whiny voice went off like a rocket- "BUT I WAS AN APPRENTICE LONGER! WHY ARE YOU GIVIN' THE CEREMONY TO HIM?"

"Tai has earned this ceremony," Psystar explained. "And you, Bronzepaw, are not too far from earning yours." He turned back to me. "Tonight, Tai, as is the custom when an apprentice becomes a warrior, you will keep a silent vigil over the camp. You will stay there until dawn and then you may return and sleep."

What? Nobody told me I had to sit up all night! But I was so happy that I'd been promoted that I didn't care. At last, at long, long last, I was a warrior.

* * *

The stars twinkled above me as I sat there, watching out for stray Dark Master goons who wanted a Round 2. I wasn't allowed to utter a sound, so I just kept to my thoughts.

I'd done a lot that day. I'd saved two worlds- with some help from Lilithmon and the Chosen Digimon. The night breeze ruffled my hair as I struggled to keep my eyes open. With all I'd been through, keeping awake wasn't so bad, I thought.

What would the other DigiDestined think if they saw me now, I wonder? They'd probably be shocked to see my wings and flames and scream at first. Then, I'd knock 'em flat with my tales of my apprenticeship.

Suddenly, a pain filled my rump, like someone was stretching it. I nearly screamed, but remembered I had to keep silent. The pain ebbed away, but it felt a bit numb. I turned around- and saw a huge lizard's tail- orange in color like Agumon's. I was shocked at why that random growth of a tail happened.

"Taichi, that tail is to signify that you have become a warrior," Longstar explained in my head. "All the DigiDestined will grow a tail at midnight during their vigil. Do not worry, Taichi and do not forget- the stars will always be with you."

And, as if to prove it, a storm of stardust began to fall on the forest. Sparkling silver powder blew to the forest floor and coated the trees. Almost like snow.

Snow.

My mind traveled back in time to the millennia ago when my Digimon journey began, when I was sleeping in a tree and snow fell on my nose, waking me up. I remembered getting sucked into the DigiWorld and meeting Koromon, Koromon digivolving to Agumon, and then to all the Greymons. I remembered all the friends I'd met, Digimon, Pokemon and Halfborn. And then, the cable car- my decision not to go back. I was happy with my choice to stay here.

And live in the wild under the stars.

And wait for my friends to come home.

**The End**

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GoggleMaster01- YAY! YAY! IT'S OVER! Man, where did that year of my life go? Anyway, you can count this as the end, or you can read a semi-fluffy epilouge. Either way- REVIEW, PEOPLE! (nagging until the end)


	31. Epilouge

NOTE ABOUT MICHI- Hi, me again! So, remember when Mimi threw her hat out the window at the end of Adventure? I just thought it would be cute if Tai found the hat. It's a short, sweet epilogue, that's all. It doesn't mean I support Michi, I was just curious. Enjoy anyway. (Stil don't own Digimon, still have no life)

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Epilouge

Hat

**O**ne moon later, the last leaf had fallen from the trees. Leaf-bare was here, and the weather was getting colder. My T-shirt and shorts weren't cutting it anymore, so Psystar had given me a blue robe to keep warm with.

I was sitting by the slowly freezing Mihirashi River, taking a well-deserved break with Agumon. I wrapped a wing around my shivering Digimon friend. It seemed almost like centuries ago that I'd joined Base, but it was only about three moons. I took a quick lick of water from the river. What would happen when it froze over, I wonder? Where would I get a drink of water? I guess I'd have to melt some snow.

"Hey!" Agumon suddenly pointed downstream. I turned in his direction. Something pink was floating towards us. I unsheathed my claws, long and healthy again now that they'd had time to grow, and got ready to fight off the intruder.

The thing got closer. As it bobbed closer, I figured out it wasn't alive, so I put my claws away and waited for it to pass by- a soggy wet lump of pink cloth. I snatched it out of the water and wrung it out.

Me and Agumon studied the object. "Um, Agumon, doesn't this look familiar?" I asked. "Or did I have too many mice again?"

"It's not just you, Tai," Agumon assured me. "It's Mimi's hat."

Now that he mentioned it, the object DID look like a big, pink, wet cowboy hat. But, how did it get here? Mimi never took it off except when she slept or was in Princess Mimi mode.

I looked up at the sky. "Crap! It's lunchtime!" I cried. (I'd gotten good at learning what time it was from the sun's position) I took the hat back to Base with me as I scrambled to the fresh-kill pile, barreling past warriors and practically throwing myself on the fresh-kill pile.

Base was almost done with the cleanup, but there was still a lot of work to be done restoring the place, and, between hunting and Base restoration, I was busy as hell. I couldn't wait to just have a second to play soccer with the coconut again.

As me and Agumon ate lunch, Palmon caught sight of us. "Oh! You found Mimi's hat!" she said. Using her Poison Ivy, she grabbed the hat and held it lovingly.

"So, you know how this hat got stuck here?" I asked.

"Mimi threw her hat out the window when that cable car left," Palmon explained. She then put the hat on her head. "I tried to catch it, but the wind blew it away. I-I thought I'd never see it again."

"Hey, Palmon, have you ever wondered if you'd see Mimi again?" Agumon asked.

"No," Palmon said. "Because I know she'll come back. And so will everyone else."

"Hm." My mind traveled back in time, to when I was a scared child taking the first step to becoming a man in that weird cave, when I got my powers. I remembered what Redtail said- "We will make sure you see the others again. But don't expect it to happen anytime soon. It may take years." What Palmon said seemed to confirm what I thought. The DigiDestined were invincible. We'd always spring back.

We'd always find each other, no matter where we were.

_I know you'll come back too. Kari._

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GoggleMaster01- There. I glued my epilouge on. Now review my first completed fic! Thank you for reading it! Here's a celebratory song.

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the Champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the Champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the Champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the Champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the Champions!

Not annoying and repetitive enough for you?

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the Champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the Champions!

Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimo- (Tai hits the author with a Flamethrower and knocks her out cold before she burns his ears anymore)


End file.
